LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



©njt^rigi^f !fti. 

Shelf .t.Ji.-;: , J 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SCHOOL KEEPING \ 

HOW TO DO IT 



By 

HIRAM ORCUTT, LL. D. 

Author of "The Class Book of Prose anb Poetry, 
" Gleaning from School Life Experience," 
'Teachers' Manual," and "Par- 
ents' Manual" 



(.■-^^o- 
V 



THE TEACHER IS BORN, NOT MADE 



/r _i 



N. E. PUBLISHING COMPANY 
16 Hawley Street 



L510ZS 
.0& 



COPTKIGHT, 

. 1885, 

By the n. e. publishin^g company. 



Stereotyped and Printed by 

Alfred Mucaa & Son, Printers, 

Boston, Mass. 



To 

THE MANT THOUSAND MEMBERB 

OP 

The New England Bureau of Education, who 

have consecrated themselves to 

the noble work of 

teaching, 

^\ih ICiltle Walntnz 
Is Respectfully Dedicated 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



PKEFAOE 



A DISTINGXJISHED gentleman, who had been in- 
vited to deliver an address at Dartmouth College 
on commencement week, prefaced his address by 
an apology for its unwarranted length. "He had 
not had time," he said, "to shorten it." The author 
of this work has no such apology to offer. He has 
studied conciseness and brevity on every page ; yet 
he flatters himself that nothing of practical impor- 
tance has been sacrificed. During the hours and 
days spent in its composition, he has lived over 
again the scenes of his school life. The principles 
advocated are those which he adopted, the facts and 
illustrations are drawn from his own experience and 
observation, and the suggestions to 3'oung teachers 
are made with the consciousness of their impor- 
tance to all who would achieve success. 

Chapter Y., on Physical Culture, is supplemented 
by a " Manual of Gymnastics," prepared by an 
eminent gymnast in Yale College, and adapted to 
school-room exercises, which will greatly aid the 



6 PKEFACE. 

teacher in class drill. Chapter YII. , on Temperance 
in Schools, treats upon the importance of physiology 
and hygiene in their relations j.o health and life, 
and will be welcomed by teachers, especially in those 
States in which this study is made compulsory in the 
public schools. 

The design of this book is, first, to aid and en- 
courage those who need and would profit by the 
experience of others; and, secondly, to awaken an 
interest in the subjects treated, and to lead to a 
more extensive reading and study of the works of 
standard authors on pedagogics, which will result in 
a more careful preparation for the important duties 
of so responsible a position. If this object is ac- 
complished, the author will be abundantly satisfied. 

HIEAM OKCUTT, 
Boston, January, 1885. 



CONTENTS. 



I. PAGE 

Theory and Practice 9 

II. 
Ho\y TO Begin 33 

III. 
How TO Govern 56 

IV. 
How TO Teach 109 

V. 
Physical Culture 145 

VI. 
Morals and Manners 186 

VII. 
Temperance in Schools 214 



SCHOOL KEEPING 



THEOKY AND PRACTICE. 

" npEACHING a Science : The Teacher an 
Artist," is the title of a very sug- 
gestive book written many years ago, and 
may here serve as a kind of text to a short 
chapter on pedagogy and didactics. 

Some of the principles of the science of 
education may be gathered from the meaning 
of the words from which our English verbs 
educate and msfriict are derived. Joseph 
Payne says : " The verb educare^ from which 
we get our word educate, differs from its 
primitive educere in this respect, that while 
the latter means to draw forth by a single 
[9] 



10 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

act, the former signifies to draw forth fre- 
quently, repeatedly, persistently, and there- 
fore strongly and permanently ; and in a 
secondary sense to draw forth faculties, to 
train or educate. The Latin verb instruere, 
from which we derive instruct, means to place 
materials together, not at random, but for a 
purpose. Instruction, then, is the orderly 
placing of knowledge in the mind with a 
definite object." 

J. S. Mill wisely suggests that " whatever 
helps to shape the human being, to make the 
individual what he is, or hinder him from be- 
ing what he is not, is a part of his education." 

Dr. Holmes has expressed his view of the 
science of education by the use of algebraic 
equations : " All economical and practical 
wisdom is an extension or variation of 
2 -f- 2 = 4. Every philosophical proposition 
has the more general character of a-\-b= c. 
We are merely operatives, empirics, aDd ego- 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 11 

tists until we begin to think in letters instead 
of figures." 

Youmans says : " A knowledge of the being 
to be trained, as it is the basis of intelligent 
culture, must be the first necessity of the 
teacher" ; and Mr. Mill adds, "What qualities 
of mind or modes of mental culture fit a 
man for being a good observer, is a question 
which belongs to the theory of education." 

Mr. Payne says of the study of the arts °. 
" I am persuaded — and I speak from some 
experience — that the elementary arts may 
be so taught as to become not only instruc- 
tion, but true education to the child." 

Touching the art as well as the science 
of education, able men have written wisely, 
and I can do nothing better than to allow 
these, also, to express their views in their 
own lan2;uao^e. 

Goethe, speaking of the relations of science 
and art, says : " Theory and practice always 



12 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

act upon each other ; one can see from their 
works what men's opinions are, and from 
their opinions predict what they will do." 

Mr. Fletcher, who has given the subject 
of education much thought, writes : " The 
intellectual faculties can never be exercised 
thoroughly but by men of sound, logical 
training, and perfect in the art of teaching ; 
hence there exist so few highly gifted teach- 
ers." 

Mr. Payne insists that " the art of teach- 
ing has principles, laws, and processes pe- 
culiar to itself." 

James Stuart claims that "the object of 
all instruction is to teach people to think 
for themselves." 

Mr. Markby enforces Mr. Stuart's view, 
by asserting that "to teach boys how to 
instruct themselves, that, after all, is the 
great end of school work." 

Dr. Temple supplements the thought by 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 13 

saying that "the true method of education 
is to show the pupil a road, by pursuing 
which he cannot help arriving at the natural 
results himself. All the best cultivation of 
the child's mind is obtained by the child's 
own exertions, and the master's success may 
be measured by the degree in which he can 
bring his scholars to make such exertions 
absolutely without aid." 

Here is the key which unlocks the treas- 
ure house of all knowledge and art on the 
subject of teaching. No teacher can afford 
to be without it, or safely fail to avail him- 
self of the principles here suggested. 

Another important thought is suggested 
by Mr. Payne : " As are the teachers, so are 
the schools. Hence the true remedy for 
poor schools consists in teaching the teacher 
how to teach, in training the trainer, in 
educating the educator." 

Dr. Arnold, whose name always suggests 



14 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

the ideal teacher, asserts that "in whatever 
it is our duty to act, those matters ^Iso it is 
our duty to study." 

As to physical training, Dr. Andrew 
Combe says : " I cannot regard any teacher 
or parent as fully and consciously qualified 
for his duties, unless he has made himself 
acquainted with the nature and general 
laws of the animal economy, and with the 
direct relation in which they stand to the 
principles of education." 

Rousseau adds; "The weaker the body 
is, the more it commands ; the stronger it 
is, the better it obeys ; hence make your 
pupils robust and healthy, in order to make 
them reasonable and wise." 

And the teacher must be well furnished 
with resources to meet the moral wants of 
his pupils. He must understand that the 
object to be gained is " to give wise direc- 
tion to the moral powers, to encourage vir- 



THEORY AXD PEACTICE. 15 

tuous inclinations, sentiments, and passions, 
and to repress tliose that are evil ; to culti- 
vate habits of truthfulness, obedience, in- 
dustry, temperance, prudence, and respect 
for the rights cf others, with a view to the 
formation of character." What a field of 
action for the educator ! To be able to meet 
his responsibility in this regard, and to dis- 
charge his duty, he must first study human 
nature in the character of childhood. He 
must study " the principles on which human 
beings act, the motives which influence them, 
the objects at which they commonly aim, 
the passions, desires, character, and manners 
which appear in the 'world around him, and 
in his own constitution." But these are the 
points discussed in the science of morals. 
Hence the teacher must study moral phi- 
losophy as a preparation for this department 
of his work. The science and art of teach- 
ing children may sometimes be learned by 



16 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

studying his own character in the light of 
theirs. He may become a pupil, while they 
are his teachers. Coleridge has beautifully 
expressed this thought in the following 
lines : — 

*' O'er wayward childhood wouldst thou hold firm 
rule, 
And sun thee in the light of happy faces? 
Love, hope, and patience, — these must be thy 
graces. 
And in thine own heart let them first keep school." 

Now, to explain and emphasize the thought 
expressed above, I will say science teaches 
to Jcnow, while art teaches to do. Poetry, 
painting, statuary, music, and architecture 
are illustrations of art, and the poet, painter, 
sculptor, musician, and architect are the 
artists who have created in their several de- 
partments. Each has exercised his skill, 
under the guidance of those laws and prin- 
ciples which underlie the subject to which 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 17 

he has devoted his life. Science directs all 
his efforts, and upon the thoroughness of 
his knowledge depends the degree of his 
success. So it must be in the art of teach- 
inof. The teacher is a creator as well as the 
poet. The educated man or woman is as 
really a creation as Longfellow's "Hiawa- 
tha," Homer's "IHad," or Virgil's "iEneid," 
Hence the educator who has thoroughly 
studied the science of teaching, and reduced 
it to practice in the development and cul- 
ture of the human body, mind, and soul, 
must be an artist, and the greatness and im- 
portance of the work he has done, when 
well done, is the measure of his skill and 
responsibility. He who writes, or paints, 
or carves, may gain an enviable tem-porary 
fame, but he who educates touches strings 
that will vibrate forever. The isolated mon- 
ument, the triumphal arch, the solemn cathe- 
dral, the stately ship, reflect great credit 



18 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

upon the artist who planned and executed 
the work ; but the living statesman, who, un- 
der the forming hand of the educator, has 
been raised from the obscurity of an humble 
home to a position of honor, influence, and 
power in the nation, circles his teacher's 
head with a halo of light that will grow 
brighter and brighter as the ages roll on. 

It is a self-evident truth that the teacher 
must acquire in some way and in some de- 
gree both the science and art of teaching 
before he can successfully "keep school." 
The question is : How can this be done ? 

As a matter of fact, in the process of knowl- 
edge art ever precedes science. In educa- 
tion, as in music, the practice goes before 
investigation into the laws upon which suc- 
cess depends. This is doubtless a reason 
why so many fail. But science reacts on 
art, and improves it ; that is, the teacher 
learns how to teach by teaching. He gains 



THEOKY AND PRACTICE, 19 

not only a knowledge of the art of teaching, 
but also the science of education ; and the 
longer he teaches the more he learns, and 
the more skilful he becomes. In this way 
a large majority of the best teachers the 
world has ever had have gained this power 
and influence. They have enjoyed the ad- 
vantages of no normal training except in 
their own school-rooms, with no instructors 
except their own experience and the expe- 
rience of others whose books they have read. 
But now teaching has become a profession, 
and, like law, medicine, and the ministry, has 
its own professional schools where "teach- 
ing to teach" is the main business in the 
course of instruction. These schools ofibr 
great advantages compared with the old way. 
The study of the science, in connection with 
the art of teaching, saves much time and 
avoids many blunders. When the normal 
graduate comes to assume the management 



20 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

and instruction of his own school, he at 
once understands the nature and difficulty 
of his work, and is prepared to do good 
service from the beginning. Other things 
being equal, he has much the advantage 
over the teacher who has not studied his 
profession. The normal school cannot create 
the natural gifts which are indispensable 
to his success, but it will cultivate them and 
impart knowledge to guide him over the 
stormy days of his anxious pedagogic life. 
Hence my earnest advice to every candidate 
for the teacher's office is that he should avail 
himself of the advantages of some good 
normal school. To the same end every 
teacher should own and carefully read a well- 
selected professional library and some good 
educational paper. By these means alone 
can he gain a practical knowledge of the 
science and art of teaching j and make the 
most of himself. Now, as the school is 



THEOHY AND PRACTICE. 21 

always what the teacher makes it, and he is 
what his own training makes him, I insist 
that every candidate for the teacher's posi- 
tion must have a complete outfit. 

1. Of wa^i^ra? gifts, such as quick percep- 
tion, the faculty of order, love for the work 
(which implies a love for the society of chil- 
dren and youth), skill, aptness to teach and 
govern, patience and enthusiasm, and with 
all, an unblemished character. As intimated 
in another connection, most of these can be 
improved by culture, but few if any of them 
can be created, I will here add, without 
hesitation or qualification, that the person 
who is entirely destftute of these gifts was 
not born for a teacher, and will be happier 
and more useful in some other employ- 
ment. 

2. The candidate must have a complete 
outfit of thorough knowledge of the branches 
to be taught, and also of kindred branches, 



22 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

covering a wide range of subjects, so that 
he may properly claim to be intelligent. 

3. The candidate must have a complete 
outfit of professional knowledge. I repeat 
this to make it more emphatic. If he can- 
not graduate from the normal school, he 
must acquire this knowledge and gain this 
discipline in some other way. 

4. The candidate may now be admitted 
to the practice of his art to gain some ex- 
perience. If his outfit has been thorough 
and complete as indicated above, his success 
is assured. Still he may profit by the expe- 
rience of others, who, by long years of ser- 
vice in the school-room and in the district, 
have learned both the science and art of 
" school keeping." 

To fully understand the necessity of thor- 
ough preparation, we must comprehend the 
greatness, difficulty, and importance of the 
teacher's work. The master who has been 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 23 

installed in a village school, or in a rural 
district on the corner where four roads meet, 
needs more ability, culture, and genius than 
the governor of the state. He has to man- 
age more than a state or a kingdom. 

In the language of another : " The school 
is the world in miniature. It is an arena 
for the conflict of opposing and varying 
interests and passions. Here emulation has 
its excitement, ambition its aim, industry 
its reward, and sloth its punishment. Self- 
ishness here leads to ungenerous and 
dishonest behavior, and benevolence here 
displays its spontaneous and disinterested 
love. In this theatre cowardice conceals 
its tricks, and chuckles in secret at its 
mischief, whilst chivalry does its achieve- 
ments of daring, openly violating and 
apparently defying law, yet not intending 
to despise authority. Badly trained or 
wholly untrained at home, and with no 



24 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

domestic pattern of excellence for imita- 
tion, boys are too often cast, a species of 
incipient savage and ruffian, into a school 
community, just as sometimes into the 
wider world, with a last hope that novel 
and exciting duties and pleasures and other 
circumstances may control evil passions, 
guide wayward propensities into some safe 
path, and awaken the dormant sense of 
honor and virtue. Hence many individuals, 
thus ungoverned at home in as many sepa- 
rate families, undirected in any path of 
truth and virtue, their corrupt propensities 
greatly developed and strengthened by in- 
dulgence, are all congregated into a single 
family to be converted or reformed, and 
disciplined, and governed by one man." 
This man, if fitted for the position he holds, 
is competent to be their teacher in legis- 
lation and statesmanship as well as in 
science, literature, and morals. 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 25 

Before passing to discuss the hows of 
school keeping, I will further consider the 
end of teaching, E. S. Hall has told us 
what it is not, and James Stuart and others, 
as I have intimated, have given us the key 
to the correct theory which every true 
teacher needs to understand before he as- 
sumes the duties of his office. Mr. Hall 
says : " The end of teaching is not to impart 
knowledge, it is not to fit one to make 
money, it is not to constitute a practical 
man, it is 7iot to fit a person for any one 
special trade, art, office, or profession." 

Here are four negatives, each of which 
has been held by multitudes as a positive 
truism in education. How often have we 
heard the argument in favor of one or the 
other of these theories as the chief ol)ject 
to be sought by parents in the training of 
their children. One seeks for his son 
opportunity for gaining a knowledge of the 



26 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

common branches of study, as sufficient 
to fit him for all the duties of life ; another 
does not care for "book learning" for his 
son ; he expects him " to shift for himself," 
and is anxious only that he should learn 
the "tricks of trade," so as to be able to 
accumulate money, as though money making 
were the end of life ; the third wants his 
son educated,' but only in practical matters, 
claiming that nothing is practical which 
cannot be appropriated for present use ; 
he ignores science altogether, forgetting 
that every useful art, trade, or profession 
is founded upon science ; the fourth, having 
in view for his son some special occupa- 
tion, sends him, without discipline or gen- 
eral culture, to the training school suited 
to the purpose he has in view. From this 
school the boy of tender years comes home 
in four short months with his diploma, and 
is supposed by his deluded father to have 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 27 

become a fall-grown man, ready for the 
"battle of life!" 

It is humiliating to know that these are 
the prevailing views on education among 
the masses, even in our times and in our 
own country. 

But the real end of teaching is the devel- 
opment of the whole man. This implies* a 
sound and vigorous body, a cultivated and 
self-reliant mind, and a high-toned moral 
and religious character. Physical culture 
is of vital importance : for there can be 
no successful mental or moral culture with- 
out it. A "sound mind" must be in a 
"sound body," and a' sound body is entirely 
favorable to the development of a sound 
faith and a well-regulated conscience. As 
applied to mental culture, the end to be 
sought is the power or art of thinking ; or, 
as Mr. Stuart expresses it, " to teach people 
to think for themselves." This power is 



28 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

acquired, and is always the result of pro- 
tracted mental toil. 

The man who has attained this art, and 
has gained the control over his own 
thoughts, feelings, and actions, is educated. 
He alone is fitted to apply his power to the 
practical duties of life. The thinker may not 
be found toiling with the doer on the farm, 
on the ocean, or in any business of life ; 
yet he is really the more practical man, and 
by far his superior. Thinl<:ers have been 
the masters and doers the -servants, in 
every department of industry and in every 
age. The former have made all the dis- 
coveries, wrought out all the inventions, 
and created the science of the world. The 
latter have been dependent upon their mas- 
ters for the knowledge by which they have 
plied their trades. 

The undisciplined yeoman cultivates the 
soil, but the thinker has created the science 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 29 

of agriculture. The common sailor at the 
helm guides the ship, but the thinker, 
who had spent his life in seclusion and 
study, invented the mariner's compass, by 
which alone the ship can be directed. The 
engineer, who runs the long railroad train 
with skill and safety, often knows no more 
than how to turn a spigot or push a lever 
according to rules prescribed by the master 
spirit of the boiler ; but the student of 
science, the educated man, the thinker, 
invented the engine and the application of 
steam as a motive-power. The telegraph 
operator, with limited knowledge, often 
works the keys to transmit thought, with 
the rapidity of lightning, from city to city 
and nation to nation ; but the th hiker dis- 
covered the laws by which the subtile fluid, 
electricity, has become the obedient servant 
and messenger of man. 

Shallow and noisy doers sometimes affect 



30 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

to despise thinkers as theorists and drones 
in society, yet without the results of study 
and toil in cloistered life, they could do 
little or nothing. As a matter of fact, the 
supremacy of cultivated mind is everywhere 
acknowledged. The world stands in awe 
of thinhers. To them the multitude do 
homage, to them they go for light in the 
hour of darkness, for guidance in prosperity, 
and for succor in danger. They adopt their 
rules and believe in their predictions. Yet 
how few think for themselves, even in this 
land of schools and churches, where the 
means of education are so generally provided 
for all ! How much this fact results from a 
defective school system and false views of 
the science and art of teaching, I will not 
undertake to say. It remains a fact which 
should attract the attention and awaken the 
solicitude of educators everywhere. Let 
it not be forgotten that the end of teaching 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 31 

is to impart the power of thinking. So 
far as any teacher fails to secure this result, 
he toils in vain. And it should be remem- 
bered that the work of American educators 
will not be accomphshed until a nation of 
thinkers has been produced by the public 
schools established on every hilltop and in 
every valley, North and South, over our 
broad land. Then will the oligarchy of 
thinkers, that now exercises the mastership 
over the masses, be destroyed by the ele- 
vation of the many to the condition of the 
few. 

Allow me, in closing this chapter, to make 
a condensed statement as to what is embraced 
in an approved system of education. Mr. 
Joseph Payne expresses the thought under 
five different heads somewhat as follows : 
First, we must have an educator ; second, a 
learner ; third, material for the exercise of 
the learner's powers ; fourth, a method by 



32 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

which the action of these powers may be 
called forth ; fifth , an end to be accom- 
plished. This method, or what is implied in 
SCHOOL KEEPING, will hcnccforth occupy 
our attention. 



HOW TO BEGIN. 33 



n. 

HOW TO BEGIK. 

T AM induced to undertake the discussion 
of our subject from this standpoint by 
the solicitations of friends, and witli the 
Iiope of aiding tliose especially who are inex- 
perienced, but anxious to make the most of 
themselves while in the service of others. 
I realize how much better I should have 
kept school, how many blunders and trials I 
should have avoided, if I could have at- 
tended a normal school, or teachers' insti- 
tutes, or read professional books, giving the 
result of successful experience, before I 
was compelled to grapple with the difficul- 
ties of school management. But there were 



34 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

no such advantages and opportunities fifty 
years ago. 

My early experience as a schoolmaster 
was peculiarly trying and hazardous. Born 
and bred among the hills of the Granite 
State, I enjoyed, at first, limited advan- 
tages, and had seen but little of the world. 
But, as fortune would have it, I was invited 
to keep a winter school in the town of Well- 
fleet, on Cape Cod, and was engaged and 
re-eno:ao:ed five successive winters in that 
town. My first journey of one hundred 
and fifty miles to Boston was taken in a 
stage-coach, and from this city my voyage 
across the bay was made in an old fishing 
schooner, on Thanksgiving day. Such a 
journey would be a novelty, if not a hard- 
ship, to the schoolmaster of to-day, but this 
was only a small beginning of my trials and 
perils. A successful examination before the 
"committee" introduced me to a school in 



HOW TO BEGrN". 35 

the " Back Side " district, of one hundred 
pupils, among whom were a whole ship's 
crew, from the captain to the cook, who 
were to be managed, governed, and taught, 
without an asssistant, and with no one to 
advise. Here I was obliged to learn how to 
do by doing. In the experience of eight 
winters in this kind of school, and during 
many years afterwards, under the pressure 
of manifold cares and responsibilities, I 
learned the lessons I am about to record in 
this little book. 

I now propose to consider some of the 
hows of school keeping. The first is sug- 
gested by the nature of the case, — Hoiv to 
BEGIN school. 

The young teacher has entered the dis- 
trict where he is to keep school for the first 
time. It is Saturday night, and he is to 
begin his school the next Monday morning. 
He meets the " committee-man " at the depot, 



36 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

and goes to his home to spend the Sabbath. 
From this hour he begins his school work, 
aiid every act and expression will tell upon 
his success or failure. In the next twenty- 
four hours he forms the acquaintance of at 
least one family circle ; he meets them 
around the hearthstone and at the family 
board, and sits with them in the house of 
worship. Now, before this Sabbath sun 
goes down, both parents and children have 
formed their estimate of the schoolmaster or 
schoolmistress (as the case may be), and 
this estimate is not likely to be changed. 
Hence the importance of a good beginning, 
of fixing favorable impressions upon first 
acquaintance. 

Monday morning comes, and the children 
begin to wend their way from their homes to 
the schoolhouse. The teacher, if he is wise, 
joins them with a view to form an early 
acquaintance with all who come in his way. 



HOW TO BEGIN. 37 

On this little journey, in so short a time, he 
makes many fast friends who will stand by 
him both at school and at home. 

I would here suggest that the teacher 
should plan to go early to the school, so as to 
l)e able to meet all his pupils in an unofficial 
way. If on the ground a half-hour before 
the school is to be formally opened, he can 
shake the hand of all, and freely converse 
with them, before he assumes the control as 
their master. This will prove a great ad- 
vantage, enabling him to win his pupils to 
favor and confidence. To the same end, he 
should mingle w^ith them out of school 
hours, and share their sports and pleasures. 
This familiarity will not hinder but help him 
maintain good order in the school. As 
their companion he gains their love and 
co-operation. His habitual kindness wins 
their affections, awakens their sympathy, 
and makes them anxious to please him. 



38 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

This kindness, supplemented by the firmness 
of the master when the hour for stiidy has 
come, commands their respect, and they 
become voluntary subjects to rightful au- 
thority. 

We will now come back to the school- 
room, where the teacher must begin this part 
of his work. How shall he open his school, 
and what shall he do the first half-day ? 
If we would learn how to perform a given 
piece of work in the best possible manner, 
we must first understand exactly what is to 
be accomplished. The watch-maker must 
know not only how to make the difierent 
parts of the watch, but how to adjust and 
regulate them, so as to secure the object he 
has in view, viz., to make a good twie- 
keeper. The wheels, springs, and pivots 
must be made of different material, adapting 
each metal to its proper use, as determined 
by its peculiar properties, its susceptibility 



HOW TO BEGIN. 39 

to heat and cold, its elasticity, et cetera. 
The case must be substantial for the protec- 
tion of the delicate machinery which it 
encloses, as well as ornamental. Its dial, 
Avith its graduated face and pointers to 
indicate the time, must be suited to the 
object in view. 

Now for the illustration. We have only 
to consider the adjustment and regulation of 
the different parts of the watch *after they 
have been made. To be sure, the accuracy 
of the time-keeper will depend upon the 
skill and fidelity of the maker ^ as well as 
upon the care of putting the parts together. 
The watch-maker is Tesponsible both for the 
construction and organization of the watch, 
but the schoolmaster can only organize. 
His material is furnished without his order. 
And this is sometimes the serious difficulty 
which he has to encounter. His pupils are 
gathered promiscuously from the district 



40 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

where he is located, from ftimilies of every 
grade of culture and standing. Few of 
them have been born right, and none have 
been perfectly trained. They are wheels, 
and springs, and pivots, to be adjusted ; but 
many of them seem to have been made of 
the wrong material, and not half finished ! 
The exterior (or case) is often rough and re- 
pulsive, and the face (or dial) dirty. It is 
difficult, indeed, to organize such material ; 
still the school must be organized, and so 
organized as to produce order, studiousness, 
systematic recitations, and the harmonious 
working of all its machinery. The watch 
will not keep time unless its perfectly con- 
structed parts are completely fitted to each 
other, lubricated with " sweet oil," and reg- 
ularly "wound up." The same is true of 
the school ; and hence everything depends 
upon thorough organization. This is the 
first work to be done, but it cannot be done 



HOW TO BEGIN. 41 

in a half-houu, nor in a half-day. It must 
be begun at once, and carefully and perse- 
veringly prosecuted until completed ; and 
when completed, it should require only one 
" winding up " for the term. 

Here I will remind the teacher that every 
arrangement and exercise of school keeping, 
from the beginning to the end, is disciplinary, 
and if wisely planned and conducted will re- 
sult in an orderly and well-regulated school. 

Such a school is designed to give oppor- 
tunity for quiet study, and to wake up mind 
and induce self-application. In the man- 
agement of the school, the grand object is to 
prevent evil, to avo'id the necessity of pun- 
ishment. The question returns to us. How 
shall he organize his school, having these 
objects in view? How shall he begin his 
school-room work ? 

I do not propose to lay down a rule as 
to the kind of opening exercise which must 



42 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

always be followed. I see great propriety in 
reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer, 
as the first exercise of each day of school, 
and have always practised this method in 
my own schools. I have done this from a 
conviction of my own need of divine aid in 
the responsible position which I had as- 
sumed, and from the belief that such an 
exercise has a restraining and happy influ- 
ence upon the school. I never have met 
the least objection from any source, or any 
serious annoyance from bad behavior of 
pupils during the hour of prayer. Others 
have had difi*erent experience, and urge ob- 
jections to such an exercise. Still others 
have not sufficient confidence in themselves 
to perform this duty in full. Yet, all can 
read the Scriptures, repeat (with or with- 
out the school) the Lord's Prayer, and 
join in singing some familiar stanzas. 
I am aware that the cry of sectarianism 



HOW TO BEGIN. 43 

is sometimes heard in certain quarters, and 
that in some cities the use of the Bible and 
religious exercises are prohibited by school 
authorities. Hence the question may be left 
to the teacher's convictions of duty, and the 
circumstances of each individual case. But 
some £:eneral exercise in which the school 
will all be interested should be introduced 
near the time of opening in the morning. 
This is desirable for various reasons, which 
will be given, in another connection, on 
another page. 

In calling the school to order on the first 
morning (and indeed every morning, noon, 
or night, at all times, when he has occasion 
to address the pupils), the^ teacher should 
speak in a ijleasant and gentle manner. 

We may here take note of one way and 
the other, for illustration. One master makes 
his appearance on the ground about the time 
the school is to open. He is an entire 



44 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

stranger. As soon as he comes in sight 
the children leave their sports and run to 
the school-room, some through fear, others 
with a view the better to scan his movements 
and learn his peculiarities. Few teachers 
realize how severe the test of coming under 
the criticism of their pupils, and how much 
depends upon this first half-day. Even the 
children will know him thoroughly before 
sundown, and will report him accurately to 
their parents. But our young pedagogue 
has entered his desk, removed his hat, and, 
without speaking to any one, has taken 
his seat. His general bearing is haughty 
and repulsive, and he seems to have the 
parody of Alexander Selkirk's soliloquy in 
mind : — 

" I am monarch of all I survey, 

My right there is none to dispute ; 
From the blackboard all round to the stove, 
I am lord of the clown and the brute." 



HOW TO BEGIN. 45 

He now strikes his rule upon the desk, 
and, in an imperative tone, calls "to order." 
As soon as all have retired to some seat to 
wait further orders, he opens upon them 
with an announcement of definite rules and 
reo-ulations more numerous than the com- 
mands of the decalogue ; assures them these 
rules will all be enforced, and warns them 
to beware of transgressions. 

But enough of this for our purpose. One 
thing is already settled in regard to this 
teacher ; if he remains at the head of this 
school for the term, it will be l)y the "force 
of arms." His first act was to declare war 
upon his pupils, 'and they have already 
placed themselves in a defensive attitude. 
The better class will settle down in obe- 
dience to his laws, but they will despise 
their master ; the rest will take advantage 
of him, and annoy him every way in their 
power. 



46 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

We come now to the other way and the 
other teacher. He has taken pains to start 
early and to form the acquaintance of his 
pupils wherever he could meet them. He 
has entered into all their feelings, plans, and 
wishes, and has formed with them a lasting 
friendship. They regard him as their friend, 
and are ready to install him as their mas- 
ter. When the hour for opening the school 
arrives, he is surrounded by his pupils, large 
and small, and is entertaining them in the 
most familiar manner. He now looks at his 
watch, and remarks in a gentle tone, " We 
will begin our school ; you may quietly take 
your seats." 

Here mark the contrast between these two 
teachers and their method of introducing 
themselves to their charge. And how dif- 
ferent the results, as manifest in the tone 
and temper of the school ! The one must 
govern, if at all, as a tyrant *, the other has 



HOW TO BEGIN. 47 

established his authority on the basis of 
mutual confidence and love, and will prob- 
ably sustain it, without violence, to the end 
of his administration. 

The next business in order is to gain 
information in regard to the studies to be 
pursued ; to ascertain what work has l)een 
mapped out by parents or pupils for the 
term ; what books and apparatus have been 
provided, and whether anything in this line 
is still wanting ; how many classes must be 
formed, and whether the num1)er, compared 
with other terms, can be safely diminished ; 
and while this investigation is going on, the 
wise teacher will carefully observe the con- 
duct of the pupils in the different parts of 
the room. He has made no laws as yet. 
Each pupil is a law unto himself, and it miy 
be presumed that each fully understands how 
he should conduct himself; but this unre- 
strained and comparatively idle hour will be 



48 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

likely to develop the real temper and pur- 
pose of all. Some will preserve propriety 
of conduct. These can always afterwards 
be trusted as loyal and reliable. Others, 
not malicious but roguish, will begin to 
manifest their fun, and to practise their 
jokes. Still others, who " don't care," who 
have come to school to be governed, and who 
pride themselves upon their smartness in 
breaking rules and evading punishment, will 
take this opportunity to try their master. 
The author was once organizing a large vil- 
lage school, where a few of this class of boys 
were observed to jump from the window and 
return to the room through the door. They 
had become sadly demoralized by the mis- 
management of the previous master ; but this 
little trick, which violated no visible law, 
was not repeated during this administration. 
They found that their sport was not as enjoy- 
able as they had anticipated. 



HOAV TO BEGIN. 49 

The information obtained on all points 
will be valuable as the teacher proceeds in 
the organization and management of the 
school. Besides learning the peculiarities 
of his pupils in temper and habit, he will 
find too many difterent studies and too many 
different editions of books, requiring too many 
recitations for each day, and will make every 
possible effort to reduce them. 

But the teacher must not act rashly in 
this matter. Frequently parents have pro- 
vided the books and given express orders 
that they must be used in the school. In 
such cases, it Avill be wise to visit these 
parents, and to explain to them the situa- 
tion, and give them good reasons why 
chancres should be made. He can show 
them, and make them believe, that it w^ill be 
for» the interest of all parties to drop a 
study for the time, or to purchase a new 
book, in order to form fewer and larger 
4 



50 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

classes, and give more time for recitation. 
A world of trouble may be saved by such 
confidential consultations with parents rela- 
tive to the interests of the school. But he 
finds that not only books are wanting, but 
apparatus. There are no blackboards, or 
reading charts, or maps, or globes, or dic- 
tionary in the school-room. Here is another 
serious matter for consultation with parents. 
But this deficiency cannot safely be pressed 
now ; still, in time the articles may all be 
secured by patient and judicious manage- 
ment. I will here venture another sugges- 
tion. After explaining to all interested the 
desirableness of a complete outfit of "tools 
to work with" in every school-room, propose 
a small contribution by parents and pupils 
(ofiering your " quarter") to purchase a map 
or a globe. This may be made popular 
and successful. By and by, when the favor- 
able opportunity comes, get up a school 



HOW TO BEGIN. 51 

exhibition, or a spelling match, and charge a 
small admittance fee, with the understanding 
that the avails will be appropriated to pur- 
chase some other needed article. By such a 
method not only will the o])ject be accom- 
plished, but new interest and enthusiasm will 
be awakened throughout the district in the 
school and its live master. 

But I have not yet suggested what may 
be done with the mischievous pupils who 
have manifested, so early, a willingness to 
annoy their teacher. They have broken no 
rules ; for none have yet been made. Hence 
there is no occasion for rebuke or punish- 
ment. Their conduct may be a theme for 
some public remarks before the school, and 
a word of caution may be spoken. These 
rogues should be "marked for future refer- 
ence,'' and a knowledge of their habits should 
guide the teacher in his arrangements for 
seating the pupils, and in his subsequent 
treatment of them. 



52 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

In organizing, special attention should be 
given, (1) To the number of studies assigned 
to each pupil; (2) To the adaptation of 
these studies to the standing and work- 
ing ability of each ; (3) To the number of 
classes to be formed for daily recitation. 

First, no scholar should have, at the same 
time, more than two or three prominent stud- 
ies. In the school there should always be 
exercises in Avhich all can take part. These 
will consume some time, and the regular 
recitations still more. Hence, two or three 
regular studies (better two than three, as 
a rule, and sometimes only one) will be 
enough for the greatest improvement of the 
scholars. 

Secondly, the number and kind of studies 
assigned should depend upon the age, pre- 
vious attainments, and known scholarship 
of each. The subject and length of lessons 
should be measured by the capacity of the 



HOW TO BEGIN. 53 

scholar to learn perfect lessons. The teacher 
will have to encounter a strong tendency to 
be classified upon a different principle. One 
-will wish to join the classes in which are some 
of his special friends ; another will measure 
his fitness to join a given class by the cu- 
bits of his own height ; a third will give 
other reasons for his preference in the choice 
of classes. But the master must not yield 
to such requests. Eight here will come a 
severe test of his professional skill in man- 
agement under difficulties. 

Thirdly^ few and larger classes give 
opportunity to awaken class pride, emu- 
lation, and enthusiasm. Besides, the few 
classes will have more time for careful 
recitation, which is the only condition of 
thoroughess in this exercise. The process 
of education is carried on through study 
and recitation ; it can be carried on in no 
other way ; and recitation, as I shall have 



54 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

occasion later to say, is responsible for at 
least half this disciplinary work. 

If, now, the school has been classified upon 
the principles suggested, and system and 
regularity have been secured, the time and 
length of each recitation should be arranged, 
and with as much care as the time-table of 
the Grand Trunk Kailroad, otherwise there 
is danger of more waste of time and serious 
collisions than the railroad ever knew. The 
exact time for every school exercise should 
be fixed and, except for good reasons, un- 
changeable. This will induce study, pro- 
mote order, and prevent endless confusion. 

The final work of organization is the as- 
signment of seats, which is by no means 
unimportant. In this assignment, regard 
should be had to the general appearance of 
the school as seen by examiners and vis- 
itors. The teacher should aim to arrange 
a perfect tableau of its kind : boys and 



HOW TO BEGIN. 55 

girls in their own departments, large and 
small so grouped as to present at once 
both uniformity and variety to the eye. 
This arrangement may also be consistent 
with convenience in calling out classes for 
recitation, to avoid unnecessary confusion. 
And there must be a separation of the 
rogues, to avoid future trouble, unless the 
master has already gained entire moral 
control over them. We have now reached 
*' the beginning of the end " in organization, 
but the work will need readjustment and 
some modifications as the school pro- 
curesses. 



56 SCHOOL KEEPING. 



III. 

HOW TO GOVERN. 

ll/T ASTER, governor, disciplinarian, man- 
ager, teacher, educator, are terms ap- 
plied to the man who educates our children ; 
but no one of them is the appositive of 
school keeper. He represents and embodies 
them all. School keeping requires the 
skilful and constant service of the master^ 
who has rule or direction over his pupils ; 
of the governor, who controls with delegated 
authority ; of the disciplinarian , who en- 
forces discipline or adherence to stated rules ; 
of the manager, who directs or manages 
so as to turn to the best account all the 
appliances and influences within his reach ; 
of the teacher, whose special business is to 



HOW TO GOVERN. 57 

impart instruction ; of the educator, who 
"repeatedly, persistently, and permanently 
draws forth," cultivates, and directs the 
faculties of body, mind, and soul. 

Now, in dealing with the methods, or 
"hows," of school keeping, I shall take 
this broad and comprehensive Adew of the 
subject, and shall aim not only to point 
out the right way to do the right things, 
but to show how everything the school- 
master does, or fails to do, every word he 
speaks or fails to speak, has its mfluence 
upon results and its bearing upon his suc- 
cess or failure. The master, governor, and 
disciplinarian must be a successful man- 
ager, and the skilful manager is always a 
good disciplinarian, for his success depends 
almost entirely upon his management ; and 
if he is an apt and skilful teacher or edu- 
cator, it may be counted as an additional 
guarantee of successful management. This 



58 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

is indeed a broad subject. An able writer 
has expressed my views on this point so 
completely that I will quote his own words : 
"A lifetime of study, observation, and ex- 
perience cannot exhaust its possibilities. 
When we consider a single child, his he- 
reditary nature, his home education, — 
received, it may be, under antagonistic pa- 
rental influences, — his propensities, facul- 
ties, disposition, tastes, habits, will, his 
outdoor surroundings ; then multiply tbese 
by a hundred or a thousand, bring them 
together into a school ; their wills begin to 
cross, their dispositions to clash, their pro- 
pensities to project, — what complexity is 
here ! Who can bring order out of this 
chaos? Who can so mould, and guide, and 
govern, and direct, that these wills shall be 
rightly disciplined, these dispositions har- 
monized, and these propensities turned in 
the right direction? Where is the pilot 



HOW TO GOVERN. 59 

that can steer his bark safely and surely 
through all these conflicting waves and cross 
seas, when he is liable, at any moment, to 
have a parental flaw strike him in his hour 
of need? What methods shall he adopt to 
round ofi* the projections and irregularities 
of his pupils' natures, and make all things 
move smoothly and harmoniously? His 
action upon them must be as constant, as 
gentle, as forcible, as unyielding, as the 
action of the water upon the rocks and 
pebbles of the sea-shore." 

Among the " hows " of school keeping now 
to be discussed are : 

( 1 . ) How to express one's own personality. 
This first how to govern a school is an- 
swered by the yqyj presence of the true mas- 
ter or mistress. If one of nature's own, 
born and educated to rule, his character, as 
manifested to his pupils, is a controlling 
power. His general bearing, self-posses- 



60 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

sion, the expression of his eye, tlie tone of 
his voice, liis cheerfulness, patience, evident 
symptitliy and knidness of heart, are power- 
ful aids to discipline. Whether he sits, 
stands, or walks in the presence of his school, 
he sways a sceptre which, though unseen, is 
constantly felt. The very atmosphere which 
surrounds him is pregnant with authority. 
Though he speaks not a word of command 
or rebuke, order and industry everywhere 
prevail. 

Such a master is reasonable in all his re- 
quirements ; just in all his demands ; decided, 
but never arbitrary ; unyielding, but as gen- 
tle as a lamb ; mild, but firm. These charac- 
teristics are the natural expression of himself, 
and they exert a moral force that cannot be 
resisted. "We must have a superior man," 
said a superintendent to me to-day ; " for this 
school will be just what the master makes it." 
Very true, but is it not equally true of every 



HOW TO GOVERN. 61 

other school ? The fact is so generally con- 
ceded, that it crystallized into a proverb long 
ago: "As is the teacher so is the school." 
Hence the great importance of this point in 
the discussion of our subject. 

(2.) HoiD to gain the affections and confi- 
dence of ;patrons and pupils. 

I have briefly touched upon this subject in 
another chapter. I recall it here, that I may 
duly emphasize the importance of the teach- 
er's intercourse with his pupils and patrons 
as a means of gaining their favor and co-op- 
eration. In this way I hope to be able to 
tide the inexperienced teacher over some 
real difficulties in his arduous and responsi- 
ble work. 

I insist that the master should mingle 
freely and impartially with his pupils during 
the recesses at the school, and at their homes, 
and become intimately acquainted with every 
family in the district. He should visit these 



62 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

homes early and often, not only in view of 
the relations he sustains to them, but for the 
express purpose of strengthening his own 
position, as a means of securing his success. 
How, then, shall the teacher conduct himself 
in his unofficial intercourse with the parents 
of his pupils ? He needs to know them all ; 
he needs their esteem and their confidence. 
How shall he secure these? As he moves 
around among his patrons, he should show 
no partiality, but admit the claims of all 
whose children are under his care to his in- 
terest and attention ; he should study the 
peculiarities of each family, and thus learn 
to adapt himself to their circumstances, tastes, 
and habits ; he should interest himself in 
whatever interests them, individually. The 
farmer, mechanic, sailor, merchant, and pro- 
fessional man has each his own special objects 
and subjects of interest, and the good house- 
keeper and mother has her special tastes and 



HOW TO GOVERN. 63 

partialities. That teacher is unfortunate who 
has not the power to adapt himself to the 
varying tastes of these families, and to mani- 
fest a real interest and sympathy with each 
in whatever interests them. One will talk 
of flocks and herds, another of architecture, 
the third of navigation, the fourth of mer- 
chandise, the fifth of bonds, deeds, and cli- 
ents, or of health and sickness, and the wife 
and mother of her dairy, her garden, her 
flowers, and her children. Each is gratified 
to find in the teacher an attentive and inter- 
ested listener. And to gain the good-will 
and sympathy of his patrons in his own work, 
the teacher must share the enthusiasm of all 
in their various pursuits. And he may learn 
much from them all. But he will meet a 
great variety of political and religious opin- 
ions as he moves about in the district. One 
is a Kepublican, another a Democrat, a third 
a Mugwump ; one is radical and another is 



64 SCHOOL KEEPDs^G. 

liberal in his religious views. Shall the 
teacher, whose duty it is to serve all his 
employers with equal fidelity, "become all 
things to all men," and profess agreement 
with each? By no means. The man or 
woman with no fixed opinions or convictions 
on these subjects is regarded as weak and 
unreliable ; if he has opinions and is afraid 
to express them, he is a coward. The teacher 
should, then, at jorojoer times and in a proper 
way, be ready to express his preferences 
on such subjects, but in no case should he 
enter into excited discussions with his pa- 
trons. Xo good can result from such a course, 
and possibly much harm. Common-sense is 
a safe guide in all such matters. 

Another point of practical importance has 
been raised by Mr. Jacob Abbott in his 
" Teacher " ; or, rather, he seems to have set- 
tled it, so far as his authority is final. He 
says : " The young teacher should take oppor- 



HOW TO GOTERX. bO 

tunity to ascertain the Dames and character 
of the different families in the district ; their 
ideas and wishes in respect to the govern- 
ment of the school : the kind of management 
adopted by one or two of the last teachers ; 
the difficulties they fell into, the nature of 
the complaints made against them, and the 
families with whom difficulty has usually 
arisen. . . . Such inquiries as these will 
bring to the teachers knowledge some cases 
of peculiarly troublesome scholars or unrea- 
sonable and complaining parents, and stories 
of their unjustifiable conduct on former oc- 
casions will come to him exaggerated by the 
jealousy of rival neighbors." But how is the 
teacher to obtain this information in a district 
where all are perfect strangers to him ? Mr. 
Abbott answers, "This information must, of 
course, be obtained in private conversation ; 
a good deal of it must be, from its very na- 
ture, hiofhlv confidential." 



6Q SCHOOL KEEPING. 

Against such views and such advice I 
here enter an earnest protest. The teacher 
may be compelled, as he forms by degrees 
the acquaintance of the families from which 
his pupils are gathered, to learn from some 
confiding mother or village gossip her 
opinion of her neighbors and her neigh- 
bors' children ; but that he should be advised 
by a practical educator to become a gossip- 
hunter before he enters upon his official 
duties, is simply marvellous. When the 
information comes unsolicited, I would ad- 
vise him to listen with respectful attention 
to all the tattlers have to say, and to profit 
by any information they may communicate ; 
but I caution him not to allow such idle 
words to create a prejudice against any 
or to influence his actions toward them. 
It were much better for the teacher and 
the school that he should learn nothing 
from hearsay of the parents or pupils in 



HOW TO GOVERN. 67 

his district, and that he should regard all 
in the most favorable light, as equally 
trustworthy and equally disposed to sus- 
tain him in the work which he has under- 
taken. He may then, by judicious and 
skilful management, transform the ill-dis- 
posed into helpers, and secure the good- 
will, good behavior, and co-operation of 
all interested in the school. 

The teacher should talk freely with par- 
ents in regard to the school and his own 
views and methods, and avail himself of 
every opportunity to impress upon them the 
great importance of careful oversight and 
painstaking in the education of their chil- 
dren. I will here repeat, the importance of 
o'ainins: the confidence and s^ood-will of 
both parents and pupils at the beginning 
of school cannot be overestimated. With- 
out these their co-operation cannot be ex- 
pected, and without this co-operation sue- 



68 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

cess is impossible. This is especially im- 
portant at the beginning, as first impres- 
sions, whether favorable or mifavorable, are 
usually lasting. The ill-will of a single 
family will prove a constant annoyance to 
the teacher, if not a positive and serious 
injury to the school. To the same end, 
the teacher should strive earnestly to awaken 
an interest in the welfare of the school, as 
he moves about among the parents. He 
has them to educate as well as his pupils, 
and frequently they are even more in need 
of his instructions. 

(3.) How to establish and maintain 
authority. 

Authority is the corner-stone to all good 
government. This idea must be in the 
theory and practice of every parent and 
every master of a school. There can be no 
effective discipline without it. The closing 
sentence of Mr. Jacob Abbott's chapter on 



HOW TO GOVERN. 69 

moral discipline, in his "Teacher," reads as 
follows : — 

"Let it be seen, then, that the constitution 
of your school is a monarchy, absolute and 
unlimited ; but let it also be seen that the 
one who holds the power is himself under 
the control of moral principle in all that he 
does, and he endeavors to make the same 
moral principle which guides him go as far as 
it is possible to make it go in the government 
of his subjects." Again he says, in another 
connection, "There should be through the 
whole course of his management the tone 
and manner of authority, not oi persuasion. 
The teacher must he a monarch, " 

Here not only the fact that the master's 
authority is supreme, but the method by 
which it should be established and main- 
tained, is suggested. These terms " mon- 
archy " and "monarch" grate upon republican 
ears and are repulsive to republican thought, 



70 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

because we have always associated them 
with tyranny and oppression. Hence the 
effort so often made both by teachers and 
school boards to manage the school as a 
democracy, to abolish corporal punishment, 
and govern wholly by moral suasion, reserv- 
ing no right to enforce authority. Hence 
the frequent collisions between parents and 
teachers in consequence of the insubordi- 
nation of their children under the regulations 
of the school. Hence the disgraceful rebel- 
lions in public schools, academies, and col- 
leges against constituted authority. Still 
Mr. Abbott's theory is true. The govern- 
ment of a school cannot be a democracy ; it 
must be a monarchy, whose sole power to 
govern is vested in one man or woman 
whose authority is absolute. His will is law, 
and that law must be obeyed. 

The rules and regulations necessary to 
maintain an orderly school are not numer- 



HOW TO GOVERN. 71 

ous, but they must be definite and definitely 
understood by every scholar to secure uni- 
formity and harmony of action. They 
should not be abruptly introduced before the 
school is organized, but should be the out- 
growth from the experience of the first 
few days. When a rule becomes necessary 
in the working of the school, such, for 
instance, as that there shall be no whisper- 
ing except at the hour assigned for irregu- 
larities, let that point come up for remark 
and consideration. Show the school its im- 
portance, and secure, as you easily can, an 
expression of approval. Then make that 
regulation, and from that hour enforce it ; 
so of every other needed rule. Make no 
laws that are not to be maintained, and 
maintained on the basis of authority. Let 
there be no misunderstanding on this point. 
But the method of governing is the theme 
I am now discussing. Securing obedience to 



72 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

wholesome regulations is the main object to 
be gained, — by mild measm^es or severe 
measures, as the circumstances require. 
Authority must be maintained, I repeat ; and 
sometimes it must be enforced. Love, as I 
shall show, is the controlling element in the 
discipline of every school. That master 
will best establish and maintain authority 
who has gained the affections and confidence 
of his pupils. He has acquired a personal in- 
fluence over them, has gained their respect 
and good-will, and can now depend upon 
them voluntarily to obey his laws. Yet 
there must be a tone and manner of authority 
in the bearing of the master, in the whole 
course of his management. When the moral 
fails, the legal must be vigorously applied. 

In every school there should be a com- 
plete division of time, study hours, recita- 
tions, and recreations. This systematic ar- 
rangement has other important uses. I 



HOW TO GOVERN. 73 

here insist upon it as a means of prevent- 
ing evil ; of maintaining authority without 
resorting to force ; of governing without 
friction. 

The time for study should be marked l)y 
the pointers on the clock-dial, and should 
be sacred to that work. All interruptions 
should be avoided, and quiet preserved. 
The time for recitation should be equally 
definite and equally guarded. And the 
time for play, and the necessary irregulari- 
ties, should be also provided for. The recess 
of fifteen minutes morning and afternoon, 
and occasional recesses, say of two to four 
minutes, are as necessary as the safety-valve 
on the steam boiler. They give opportunity 
to breathe the pure air, explode the pent- 
up fun, to whisper, ask questions, and leave 
seats, and they remove all excuse for inter- 
rupting the quiet of the hours devoted to 
other purposes. If time is allowed for 



74 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

irregularities, they can safely be forbidden 
at other times. Besides, this system and 
order have a moral power over the school 
that cannot be measured. 

It is also of great consequence, as a means 
of holding the supremacy, that each pupil 
should have his time fully occupied and 
his interest in his studies thoroughly awa- 
kened. To secure these results, great care 
has been taken in the organization of the 
school to have just such studies and just 
so many as are adapted to the individual 
scholar and class of scholars. I do not 
speak of this, in this connection, in view of 
its great importance to the scholars' pro- 
gress in study, but in view of its bearings 
upon school government. In the school 
where all are busy and interested in their 
lessons, there is no time for mischief. Such 
a school may not be as quiet as the school 
that is ruled by force. No matter ; the noise 



HOW TO GOVERN. 75 

will do no harm, so long as no one hears 
it, or is disturbed by it. The queen of the 
beehive would be very foolish to attempt 
to quiet the hum of the busy workers while 
they are storing their rich honey in the cells. 
Equally foolish is that teacher who shouts 
" order " to his school, when the only disor- 
der results naturally from the zeal of earnest 
pupils learning their lessons. 

Again, the master who has secured the 
love and confidence of his pupils can easily 
bring them to the hearty approval of what- 
ever he deems necessary or best for the wel- 
fare of the school. .He can create a pubHc 
opinion which will prove a powerful agency 
to aid in the exercise of his authority over 
disorder, recklessness, and rebellion ; he can 
make popular whatever is right and proper 
and expedient ; he can make unpopular 
whatever is wrong or of evil tendency ; 
and, while he holds the reins of supreme 



76 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

authority, and retains the right and power 
to act independently and to enforce any 
measure deemed necessary for his own se- 
curity or the good of the school, he may 
so manage as to bring about the desired 
result through the good-will, co-operation, 
and active aid of his students. Indeed that 
is the best-governed school which seems 
not to be governed at all ; whose well- 
arranged machinery moves without friction 
and is self-adjusting ; whose master's hand 
is never seen, and his authority never felt. 
The earnest, well-educated, and sympa- 
thetic young man or woman has determined 
to make a success in keeping school. He 
has sought the acquaintance, secured the 
friendship, interest, and co-operation of the 
parents at home and the children at school ; 
has carefully planned and arranged everything 
that can have a bearing upon the result, 
and has skilfully appropriated every agency 



HOW TO GOVERN. 77 

and influence that can be brought to bear to 
gain his object. He is now tlie master of 
the situation, and has only to guide and 
control the circumstances by which he is 
constantly surrounded. No syml^ol of au- 
thority appears, yet his school is in good 
order ; no word of command is given, yet 
careful obedience to known laws is ren- 
dered ; no rewards for successful scholar- 
ship, except the consciousness of victory 
over difficulties and the approval of mas- 
ter and friends, are offered ; yet nearly all 
the pupils are deeply interested in their 
studies, and are making rapid progress from 
day to day. The school so organized needs 
little or no aid from the teacher. Like the 
well-constructed, regulated, and "wound- 
up " clock, it runs itself, / 

Even in such a school, however, some- 
times the old habits of disorder, such as 
tardniess, idleness, whispering, disobedi- 



78 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

ence, lying, stealing, and the like, will occa- 
sionally crop out; but the master has only 
to bring to bear upon them his own moral 
power and the power of public opinion, 
and they are checked at once. He always 
has some interesting exercise near the 
time for opening the school to draw in 
the pupils. If any are not so drawn, 
but fall into the habit of tardiness, he so 
strongly impresses the better class with the 
importance of punctuality, that they frown 
upon the offender, and he concludes to 
come on time. 

He has removed the last excuse and temp- 
tation to whispering by his short occasional 
recesses, for such purposes. Still some con- 
tinue to whisper. He now forms an anti- 
whispering society, which soon embraces 
nearly all the school, and thus public opin- 
ion, for a time at least, crushes out the 
evil. 



HOW TO GOVERN. 79 

Angry words are overheard on the play- 
ground. This gives the teacher a text for 
some general remarks upon the folly and 
wickedness of quarrelling. The offender is 
not punished, but kindly rebuked and ear- 
nestly advised to liv^e in peace with all. 
His name is not called out in public, per- 
haps is not known to the teacher. Soon 
the better class begin to rebuke such offend- 
ers. The number who disapprove increases, 
and erelong public opinion becomes so strong 
that the most careless and vicious are led to 
give up the habit. 

A case of theft is discovered, but the thief 
is not known. The wise teacher embraces 
this opportunity to lay the crime before the 
pupils in a repulsive light ; and he soon has 
created so strono^ a feelinof in the school that 
the offender is ready voluntarily to confess 
his sin and make restitution. I have, in my 
own experience, met and treated several cases 



80 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

of this kind, which resulted not only in the 
correction of the habit in school, but also in 
the reformation of the offender. There is no 
more powerful agency for good than an en- 
lightened and excited public opinion. Fortu- 
nate is that teacher who has learned how to 
employ it, to sustain his authority and con- 
trol his little kingdom. 

There is another condition of things which 
must be provided for in the working of every 
school, — a state of anarchy and confusion, 
which results from the breathing of bad air, 
weariness from study, or some other physical 
cause. The evil cannot well be defined. 
All we know, when it is upon us, is that the 
fiend of disorder reigns in the school. The 
important question is. How shall w^e manage 
to expel him, and restore order and industry ? 
No ordinary method will accomplish it. Pro- 
testing, supplicating, arguing, scolding, or 
whipping will not have the slightest tendency 



HOW TO GOVERN. 81 

to overcome the difficulty. Any or all these 
remedies will aggravate rather than remove 
the difficulty. The enemy must be encoun- 
tered by " a flank movement." Divert the 
attention of the school by some unexpected 
change. Let study and recitation be sus- 
})ended ; tell or read some anecdote or 
story ; recite in concert the multiplication- 
table ; or let the whole school loose for 
just five minutes by the watch, and then 
call them to order, and you will find that 
a remarkable change has been produced in 
the minds and feelings of all, and they are 
ready to settle down to good order and 
quiet study. 

Still again, the teacher who would maintain 
his authority by mild measures alone must 
exemplify, in his daily life, a uniform good- 
will, earliest sympathy, and hearty generos- 
ity towards his pupils at all times and every- 
where. I have spoken of the importance and 
6 



82 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

method of gaining the affections of the pupils 
as a means of governing the school. I now 
speak of love in the teacher's own heart, felt 
for those intrusted to his care. This love is 
an active principle, and, when brought to bear 
upon sympathetic childhood and youth, it is 
all-powerful. Show the pupil, by personal 
attention and kindness, that you are his real 
friend, and that all your efforts are designed 
to secure his best good, and make him 
believe it, and you hold him subject to your 
will and control, anxious to gratify your 
wishes and to work for the good of the 
school. In him you have gained a true 
friend and loyal subject. 

But do not mistake . This love can never 
be a substitute for authority nor an obsta- 
cle to severity when the good of the pupil or 
the school demands it. Authority requires 
obedience, but obedience is not, like the love 
and faith of childhood, instinctive. This love 



HOW TO GOVERN. 83 

is spontaneous, l)ut the habit of submission 
must be created under disciphne. The child 
must be taught obedience, and the great 
trouble is, many a child at home has never 
learned this important lesson, and he brings 
to school only the spirit of insubordination. 
The authority that must always be the con- 
trolling power in every well-managed school 
is "a power behind the throne," and is mild 
and gentle in its more effective aspects. 
When made the basis of school govern- 
ment, it does not require the teacher to 
assume sternness and severity towards his 
pupils, but quite the reverse as a rule. 
The more gentle, courteous, and kind his 
expressions, the more likely to secure cheer- 
ful obedience. When the pupil is at peace 
and in harmony with his master, reasons for 
his requirements may be given, and even 
persuasion may be properly used ; but if 
a question of obedience is pending, no rea- 



84 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

sons and no j^ersi^aszo/i are allowable. It 
is then simple submission to authority. 
Eeasons should never be given as induce- 
ments to obey, and the teacher may never 
parley with a rebellious scholar. 

But habitual kindness, and even indul- 
gence in whatever is beneficial or harmless, 
do not weaken authority, but, on the con- 
trary, increase the power to control ; and, 
when authority is properly exercised, they 
tend to increase and strensfthen the love and 
confidence which the pupil cherishes for 
his teacher. The rule is, that the obedient 
scholar may be indulged in every line of 
conduct that is harmless to himself and the 
school, but must be restrained in everything 
that is injurious or dangerous. The teacher 
who attempts to gain the affections of his 
pupils by gratifying all their wishes, in other 
words, by laxity of government, will fail. 
They may enjoy the indulgence, but they 



HOW TO GOVERN. 85 

mark the master's weakness, and soon learn 
to view his imbecility with pity and contempt. 
Indeed the only way to gain the lasting 
love and gratitude of pupils is to govern 
them ivith a firm and steady hand. 

Another principle of great importance 
underlies school government. All favors 
bestowed must reward only fidelity and 
submission ; none can be gained by dis- 
obedience. Still further, privation, incon- 
venience, or pain, as the case may be, must 
always attend or follow the act of trans- 
gression. This is according to the divine 
plan, after which family and school govern- 
ment should be modelled. In adopting the 
divine plan of government for the school, 
we must admit the propriety and necessity 
of severe as well as mild punishments. It 
is a system of love, and is also a system 
of severity, as every transgressor of the 
physical or moral law fully understands. 



86 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

God not only has in exercise a loving spirit, 
but he is Love itself. Yet His is a govern- 
ment of law, of authority, and of penalty, 
— of painful and unavoidable penalty. It 
would seem safe to follow such a model ; 
and, if we do, we have once for all set- 
tled the question of corporal punishment, — 
of its propriety and necessity, at least in 
some cases. 

I will proceed, then, to remark, that in 
school government merited punishment 
must be certain. The certainty more than 
the severity of punishment makes it effec- 
tive. For instance, I will again revert to 
the natural law. The child, unconscious of 
his danger, plunges his fingers into the can- 
dle's blaze ; the suffering of pain is the 
penalty ; and every time this law is vio- 
lated the suffering must be endured. But 
he soon learns to keep at a distance from 
this shining terror, and to obey this physi- 



HOAV TO GOVERN. 87 

cal law. This penalty, like every other, 
is only an expression of the love of the 
infinite Father. So the schoolmaster should, 
in the exercise of his love for his pupils, 
make it sure that a suitable punishment 
will follow every transgression of whole- 
some laws, when that transgression tends 
to injure either the individual or the 
school. 

And as far as possible let the punish- 
ment be the natural consequence of the 
fault or transgression, as the case may be. 
To illustrate : The scholar, carelessly or 
intentionally, in leaving the room at re- 
cess makes unnecessary noise. Call him 
back to his seat, and ask him pleasantly 
to pass out more quietly, and if he re- 
peats the offence, in the smallest degree, 
require him to return and remain while 
others enjoy the recess. Another goes out 
quietly for a fifteen minutes' recess and stays 



05 • SCHOOL KEEPING. 

thirty minutes. The next time allow this 
transgressor only ten minutes ; and if he 
violates still again, allow him none at all. 
Here the privation is associated with the 
fault, and the habit is soon corrected. 

All punishments are designed to correct 
the evil for the benefit of the transgressor 
or the school, or both. They should be 
mild or severe as the case requires, but 
may never be vindictive, nor administered 
in anger. Promptness and firmness, but 
harshness and ill-temper never. In one 
instance a look of disapprobation corrects 
the evil ; in another, a word of rebuke ; 
in a third, the denial of some favor ; in the 
fourth, the infliction of slight pain ; in the 
fifth, severity that will draw tears. But 
in no case, let me say right here, may 
the master inflict such punishment as will 
endanger the health or result in any per- 
manent injury to the scholar. 



HOW TO GOVERN. 89 

This punishment, as a rule, should not 
be delayed. It should follow the transgres- 
sion as speedily as possible, or it will lose 
its force and fail to accomplish its object. 
Never let the sun go down upon the anger 
or transgression of a pupil if you can help 
it. And always attend and follow punish- 
ment, of whatever kind or degree, with 
attention, Jchidness, and sympathy. This 
will tend to win back the offender to obe- 
dience and duty, and secure his permanent 
reform. 

And away with the nonsense that severe 
punishment, or the use of the rod, is in itself 
an evil to be deplored, and must be employed 
only as a "last resort." It is a pity that chil- 
dren have, at home or in school, been so neg- 
lected and ill-treated that such punishments 
ever become a necessity in school govern- 
ment ; but it is fortunate for the pupil and 
the school that this effective remedy for in- 



90 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

subordination is at hand, and that the school 
has a master who understands how to apply it. 
Besides, the use of the rod is the time and only 
remedy when it may he used at all, and there 
can he no suhstitute. The newsboy makes a 
misstep and falls under the wheels of the 
rolhng cars, and in a moment is picked up 
upon the track with his foot crushed to jelly. 
What is to be done ? Here is a desperate case 
which requires a desperate remedy. But it 
is a deplorable necessity to amputate a human 
limb ; it should be done only as a " last resort." 
So reasons the quack who is called to treat 
the case. Hence he orders bathing the poor 
boy's head and leg in cold water to allay the 
burning fever ; he gives him brandy to keep 
up his strength, and opium to relieve the pain ; 
he tries every mild remedy that has been 
discovered. But the patient is sinking from 
loss of blood, and ready to die from inflam- 
mation which long delay has invited. The 



HOW TO GOVERN. 91 

fact is, amputation alone can save life, and 
the very nature of the case admits of no 
delay. What a fool has this case in hand ! 
Yet this quack is no more foolish than the 
master who attempts to quell a rebellion by 
persuasion and moral suasion. These are 
appropriate agencies in school government. 
Love is a controlling power in discipline, ])ut 
th§y are all worse than wasted if applied in a 
case like this. Without the knife the patient 
will die ; without the rod the pupil is lost to 
authority, lost to himself, and lost to tlie 
school ; milder measures are effective in other 
cases, but not in this. Still it is true that the 
school which is properly managed under the 
moral influence of a skilful master seldom 
requires corporal punishment; and it might 
never be necessary if all the children were 
properly trained at home. Since it is some- 
times necessary as things are, it is not only 
the proper punishment but it is merciful and 



92 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

hind. The appropriiite penalty for such 
school vices us profanity, falsehood, steal- 
ing, and the like must be determined by the 
circumstances of the case. Moral treatment 
judiciously and perseveringly applied will 
usually accomplish the object. A case to 
illustrate. 

At the hour of recess, when the boys 
were at their play, the master was passing 
and overheard profane language by one who 
had become excited over his game. He 
had made no law against swearing, but every 
pupil knew that it was wicked to swear, 
and no one would justify the practice or apol- 
ogize for it. What did he do about it ? In 
answering this question I shall indicate an 
approved method of treating all such offences 
committed in school. At a favorable time 
afterwards, when the day had passed pleas- 
antly and all seemed happy, the master 
asked the school to lay aside their books 



HOW TO GOVERN. 93 

a few minutes before the time to close, and 
told them he had something to say to them 
upon an important subject; that not long 
since, in passing their play-ground, he had 
accidentally heard an oath from the lips of 
one of the boys present, which had caused 
him much grief and anxiety, — grief to learn 
that any one in his school could so far for- 
get himself and his ol)ligations to God and 
his playmates as to indulge in this low, sin- 
ful, and degrading habit ; and anxiety lest 
this habit was more common than he knew 
of; that his object in calling up the matter 
now was not to sino;le out the known of- 
fender and punish him, but to have a famil- 
iar talk with them on the subject, to ascer- 
tain how far their views agreed with his own, 
and whether some measures could not be 
taken to put a stop to such evil habits. He 
then made some general remarks upon the 
folly and wickedness of swearing, at the 



94 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

close of which he called for an expression 
of opinion as to whether swearing is ever 
justifiable, to be decided by a standing vote. 
Every pupil stood up. Now he inquired 
how many present were not in the habit of 
swearing, or never used profane language. 
He urged them to be honest with themselves 
and him ; about one half of the boys rose. 
Next he asked all who were willing to con- 
fess that they did sometimes use profane 
language to rise. Every one of the self- 
convicted half stood up again. Then came 
the opportunity to extend his remarks, 
dwelling upon the evil consequences of the 
habit, and how easy it is to do wrong, and 
how noble it is to confess and forsake that 
wrong ; and he requested all who were 
resolved to swear no more to rise. All 
arose, and the school was dismissed. The 
result was, an anti-swearing society was 
formed, which attracted much attention and 



HOW TO GOVERN. 95 

wrought such a change in public opinion 
that the habit of swearing was virtually 
abolished for the term. 

I here recall an amusing anecdote rela- 
tive to a voluntary association of this kind 
once formed by some students at Dartmouth 
College. The " boys " had fallen so deeply 
into the habit of using profane language that 
they were themselves shocked in view of it. 
Hence they resolved to sign a pledge binding 
themselves to refrain from the vile practice. 
The pledge, after setting forth the evil to be 
abandoned, read, "I solemnly pledge that I 
will not swear anywhere this side of * Mink 
Brook.' " (Mink Brook is a small stream 
crossing the main road, half a mile south of 
the college.) A few days later, early one 
morning, a classmate saw one of the mem- 
bers of this anti-swearing society ru7ining 
across the Common, and inquired of him the 
occasion of so great haste. He replied, "I 



9 6 SCHOOL . KEEPING. 

am going down over ' Mink Brook to swear ; 
I can't stand it any longer ! " 

This was not a case for college discipline, 
only a case of conscience. But what a con- 
science ! It would not allow the young man 
to break his written pledge, but it would 
allow him to break his resolution to refrain 
from swearing, and to indulge still in the 
acknowledged sin ! Another illustration of 
the power of habit. 

I will here recall other cases illustratincf 
the principles I have laid down in regard to 
school government, and specify an approved 
method of treating them. 

I once called to account a scholar for 
whistling in his seat in study hours. 
" What does this mean ? " I inquired. Greatly 
agitated, he replied, "/ did not whistle, it 
whistled itself.'' I found the boy was study- 
ing at the time, and had no intention of 
thus disturbinoj the school. He had whis- 



HOW TO GOVERN. 97 

tied so much out of school that it had be- 
come a second nature, and he was uncon- 
scious of the act until he heard the whistle. 
Hence there was no blame, and of course 
no censure, except for carelessness. 

A ten -year -old boy, very bright and 
interesting, and usually correct in his de- 
portment, had heard the master rebuke 
others for whispering, and threaten them, in 
a general way, with punishment if they did 
not stop it. Soon after he was observed 
upon his seat, with one eye upon his book 
and the other upon the master, evidently 
whispering. The teacher addressed him, 
"Charlie, are you whispering?" Answer, 
"Yes, sir." "Did you hear what I said 
about whispering and punishment for it ? " 
Answer, "Yes, sir." "Well, Charlie, I am 
very sorry you have done this ; I rather 
punish almost any scholar in school than 
you." Answer, ^^ I would much rather you 
7 



98 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

ivould,'' with a roguish smile. The master 
was conquered. He could only say in reply, 
"I will see you later, and talk with you 
about this matter." His mistake was in 
threatening punishment for an uncommitted 
act of disobedience. Better wait to learn the 
exact nature of the act, and the circum- 
stances attending it. Then only can he 
decide as to the proper penalty (if any) to 
be inflicted. If he has made a threat to 
punish a specified transgression, he must do 
one of two things, — punish just as he 
promised, or manfully withdraw his threat 
and confess his fault. The latter course 
should always be taken when he has 'made a 
mistake. Mark here the frankness, honesty, 
and shrewdness of this boy. He told the 
trutji, confessed his fault, and made no efibrt 
to excuse himself. The fact remained that 
he was a rogue. But roguery is much to be 
preferred to stupidity. I have always been 



HOW TO GOVERN. 99 

on good terms with my roguish scholars. 
I have sometimes dealt with them very 
severely, but have never lost their confi- 
dence or affection in consequence. This 
"little man" deserved the highest commenda- 
tion for his truth-telling under strong temp- 
tations to deceive, and he deserved a gentle 
rebuke for disregarding the rule and wishes 
of his master. 

In my school of a hundred pupils on Cape 
Cod, I found many rogues, some small and 
some large. One of these, who would mea- 
sure at least six feet, one day asked per- 
mission to speak. ,He never did anything 
contrary to law, ^vithout permission, but in 
his very obedience he aimed to make fun, and 
was at times willing to annoy the master in 
that way. On this occasion I allowed him 
to speak. He left the back seat, came to the 
front seat and sat down beside a little six- 
year-old girl, and commenced conversation 



100 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

with her. The attention of the whole school 
was fixed upon this tableau. I looked him 
fully in the face, and waited until he had fin- 
ished, when I said in the presence of the 
school, " Sweet, you see how ashamed that 
little girl appears." The pupils cheered, and 
the offender moved back to his seat discom- 
fited. Not another word was spoken. The 
school at once came to order, and the exer- 
cises went on quietly as before. But Sweet 
was cured of his little tricks. By the way, 
the captain of a vessel, which had recently 
come into the harbor for winter quarters, was 
present as a pupil, and Sweet was his " mate." 
This was the application of shame as a pun- 
ishment, which I regard as appropriate and 
effective in certain cases. But ridicule and 
sarcasm are seldom, if ever, to be employed. 
Four large boys were excused to go home 
an hour before the school closed, on the plea 
of being needed by their parents for some 



HOW TO GOVERN. 101 

service. They left the schooihouse, but in- 
stead of going home they went out upon the 
liill, in plain sight, and commenced playing 
ball. The master saw them, and sent out a 
messenger and ordered the boys to come 
back to school. They returned an insulting 
answer and refused to come. I was not that 
master. If I had been, I should not have 
sent for them. That was a mistake. It was 
much easier to deal with them for the first 
offence than for three ofiences together. In 
the first instance, they had left the school 
upon false pretences. Hence they were not 
excused at all. If 'they had been mine to 
handle, I should have asked them privately, 
the next morning, to meet me at noon, when 
I would have talked with them kindly but 
firmly, and asked an apology before the 
school. If that had been absolutely refused, 
I should have informed them that they were 
no longer members of the school, but that 



102 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

they could return by making a public apol- 
ogy and pledging propriety of conduct in the 
future. In the second instance, after they 
had refused obedience and insulted the mas- 
ter besides, I should have given them no 
attention whatever in the school after their 
return. If they behaved themselves prop- 
erly, I should not have turned them out, but 
should have entirely ignored their presence. 
No inside nor outside pressure could have 
induced me to allow these rebels to return 
without public and humiliating confession 
and apology. This is one of those cases 
which cannot be dealt with on the "sugar- 
plum" principle. Corporal punishment is 
not the remedy in this instance, but suspen- 
sion, which would result in expulsion, unless 
the offenders came to my terms and gave me 
satisfaction. 

A boy, fifteen years of age, had entered 
my academy from New York. On his way, 



HOW TO GOVERN. 103 

while stopping at a hotel, he had mastered 
his step-father in a personal encounter. He 
was idle, impudent, bold, and defiant. He 
attempted and expected to conquer his 
preceptor as he had his father. He was 
very Ijright, and I found, before I had got 
through with him, that he had talents, and 
a heart susceptible of moral influence. But 
nothing was more evident than that the 
moral must come after his stubborn will 
had been subdued by severity. He was a 
rebel from the first, at every corner. I 
always treated him kindly, but he returned 
kindness by insult, ^and watched his oppor- 
tunity to gain his point. His class were 
at recitation. Unprovoked, he grossly in- 
sulted me before the class. I stepped down 
from the desk and commenced talkins: with 
him, when he dared me to lay hands on him. 
Such a challenge I always accepted under 
such circumstances, and a struggle ensued. 



104 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

I was soon acknowledged to be his master, 
and he had stopped swearing at me. I 
now took the boy upon the stage, had him 
sit at my side until the recitation was over. 
Then I took him to my room, and had a 
long and very satisfactory conversation with 
him. I assured him that I was his friond, 
and had been prompted by no other feelings 
than friendship, in anything I had done ; 
that I must he master, and that he must 
yield to my authority and treat me with 
becoming respect. He agreed to all I said, 
spoke of his stubbornness as a great mis- 
fortune, and admitted the necessity of being- 
subdued. On leaving my room he told 
his classmates that I was right and he was 
wrong, and that he had not one word of 
fault to find with his preceptor. For two 
years afterwards, in my school, he was 
uniformly obedient and faithful, and for a 
dozen years more, until his death, he was 
one of my devoted friends. 



HOW TO GOVERN. 105 

This was an extreme case, and I relate 
the circumstances of it to illustrate two 
points: viz., that severity is sometimes 
necessary, and that kindness should always 
accompany and follow severe punishment. 
To have reversed this process would have 
proved a failure to subdue the boy, and the 
subversion of all authority in the school. 
To have expelled the boy might have re- 
sulted in his ruin. Severity was kindness 
then, as it will ever prove to be if properly 
administered. Whether severe punishments 
are to be inflicted in private or public, 
depends entirely .upon circumstances, of 
which we can never know beforehand. The 
principles which I have advocated, and the 
good judgment of the master, must settle 
this question, one case at a time. 

What I have said here of the necessity 
and propriety of corporal punishment in some 
cases is in no way inconsistent with the 



106 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

assertion I will here record, that the skilful 
master, under favorable circumstances, will 
seldom or never need to resort to severe 
punishments. Nor have I any words to 
offer except in condemnation of the severe 
and cruel punishments inflicted by some of 
the old schoolmasters. Both the degree 
and kind of punishment deserve unquali- 
fied censure. Jean Paul Richter gives an 
example, — John Jacob Hauberle, a Sua- 
bian master. He was fifty-one years and 
seven months employed as a schoolmaster, 
in which time he "administered 911,527 
strokes of the cane, 124,000 of the rod, 
20,989 blows with the ruler, 10,235 boxes 
on the ear, 7,905 tugs at the ear, 1,115,800 
blows with the knuckles on the head. He 
threatened the rod, but did not execute, 
to 1,707 more children. He made 777 
kneel upon round hard peas, and 631 upon 
a sharp-edged piece of wood, and made 



HOW TO GOVERN. 107 

5,001 ride a wooden horse." Add to all 
this, "22,763 impositions (or tasks), partly 
in the Bible, partly in the catechism, and 
partly in the Psalm book." And he was 
fool enough to keep the record of his deeds, 
and give it to posterity. What a commen- 
tary upon the times in which this master 
lived, and his own inefficiency ! To say 
nothing of the excess of his punishments, 
the boxes and " tugs " on the ear, the blows 
on the head, kneeling upon " hard round 
peas and sharp-edged wood," and imposing 
tasks, and all this kind of treatment, can 
have no justification under any circum- 
stances. Threatening without executing, as 
before intimated, should never be practised. 
Right here let me say, the teacher may 
never provoke his pupils to break his rules 
or rebel against his authority. This is often 
done in various ways, but it is inexcusable. 
All acts of disobedience and rebellion must 



108 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

be treated from whatever cause they arise ; 
but if the master has provoked them by 
his haughty bearing or unprofessional man- 
agement, he must share largely the respon- 
sibility. 

Another important point, — the teacher 
should improve every opportunity to com- 
mend the school and the individual pupil 
for worthy conduct and successful study. 
Such commendation has great power over 
the evil tendencies of school life. And in 
the midst of all these conflicts and trials, 
the teacher should be cool, self-possessed, 
and unwavering. 

A similar course, modified by circum- 
stances, may be pursued in dealing with 
every punishable school oflence, while the 
master must hold firmly the reins of gov- 
ernment, and be prepared to treat every 
mild or flao;rant case of recklessness with 
prompt and deserved punishment. 



HOW TO TEACH. 109 



rv. 

HOW TO TEACH. 

T DESIRE to repeat, at each standpoint, 
the inseparable relation of any one de- 
partment of school keeping to every other. 
In the last chapter I dwelt somewhat at 
length upon " How to Govern " ; but " How 
to Teach " is only a branch of the same sub- 
ject. Indeed, good teaching is one impor- 
tant method of govjerning. The whole pro- 
cess of teaching to think and teaching to 
recite, of waking up mind, of encouraging 
industry, and of fixing and holding the atten- 
tion of classes has in view, as one grand 
object, a systematic, orderly, and well-regu- 
lated school, as means to an end. 

There must be good order to give oppor- 



110 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

tunity for quiet study, and quiet study tends 
to produce good order ; and the skilful hand- 
ling of classes is directly instrumental in 
securing the same result. Hence successful 
teaching is successful governing as far as it 
goes. 

With this introduction I will proceed to 
discuss, in a summary way, the subject of 
this chapter. We shall understand how to 
teach when we have thoroughly learned the 
design and method of recitation. 

The results of a practical education are 
illustrated, not by the golden cup filled to 
the brim, but by the swelling bud developed 
into blossoms and ripe fruit, through the ge- 
nial influence of light, heat, and moisture. 
Education is not, as I have already said, the 
storing of knowledge, but the development 
of power, through exercise. Study and reci- 
tation are the chief agencies to be employed 
in this process of training. Study is syste- 



HOW TO TEACH. Ill 

raatic thinking, and to teach the pupil how to 
study is of the first importance. To do this 
successfully the teacher must arrange defi- 
nite study hours and maintain perfect order 
to give opportunity for quiet thought ; must 
assign only such studies and lessons as are 
adapted to the scholar's capacity ; must 
awaken his enthusiasm and fix and hold his 
attention upon a given subject ; must with- 
hold all unnecessary helps ; and must teach 
him to study thoughts and subjects, in- 
stead of words and books. In this way the 
habit is gradually formed and the foundation 
for successful mental culture is laid. 

The relative importance of recitation as a 
disciplinary agency is seen in its practical 
bearing in every department of life. The 
child learns to walk by walking. This act 
requires the exercise of his muscles, which, 
in time, results in growth and the develop- 
ment of strength. He learns to talk by 



112 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

talking, and this is only the practise of vocal 
gymnastics. The mechanic learns to use his 
tools by using them. He could never ac- 
quire the ability to build a house, construct 
an engine, or make a watch, by reading 
books or hearing lectures upon the subject. 
He must practise again and again what he 
has learned from the master workman, be- 
fore he can become efficient and skilful. 
The musician gains a wonderful ability to 
use the voice and instrument only by years 
of earnest and persistent recitation. The 
orator, whose eloquence sways the multitude 
as the wind the nodding forest, has gained 
his power also by jpractice. And the im- 
portant art of easy and graceful conversa- 
tion and elegant composition is acquired 
only by conversing and composing. Indeed, 
the whole process of physical, intellectual, 
and moral culture depends upon this same 
principle, — the exercise of the muscle or 



HOW TO TEACH. 113 

faculty to be developed; the repetition of 
some act of a muscle or faculty, as a means 
of acquiring ability and skill in the use 
of it. Hence the gymnast, by constant 
drill, not only develops symmetry and beauty 
of form, but agility and precision of move- 
ment that is wonderful. The student, by 
constant and systematic thinking, learns to 
think, and the good man's character is 
moulded and matured by the practice of 
virtue. 

Well-conducted school recitations induce 
study. Without them, studying, as a habit, 
must be fitful and superficial. The same re- 
sult follows looseness and irregularity in con- 
ducting recitation. Let it be understood by 
the class that the teacher has adopted the in- 
excusable practice of occupying the hour in a 
display of his own knowledge of the lesson, or 
will be sure not to call upon a given section 
of the class except on certain days, and but 
8 



114 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

little attention will be given to the lessons of 

those days. Prof. H always began to 

call up the freshman class in chemistry at one 
end of the front seat. He never called more 
than one third of the " boys " at any recitation, 
but passed on with the second third the second 
day, and finished the last section the third 
day, and then returned to repeat the routine. 
Hence it was soon understood that, two days 
out of three, there was no danger of being 
called to recite. But one day the professor 
forgot himself, and began at the other end of 
the class, and called "Hoskins." At first he 
did not rise, and was called a second time, 
when he jumped up in great confusion, and 
said, " Excuse me ; I did not expect to recite 
to-day, and have not studied my lesson." 
This case serves to illustrate. 

Another advantage of personal and accu- 
rate recitation is to give distinctness and 
vividness to acquired knowledge ; to fix it 



HOW TO TEACH. 115 

in the memory, and render it available for 
future use. No lesson is thoroughly learned 
until it is recited. By recitation the 
thoughts which were crude and half-formed 
are made sound and ripe ; those that were 
seen in the distance are brought near ; those 
that were doubtful are made certain. In 
this way the mind is furnished and invig- 
orated for the service of practical life. 

Again, recitation bears an important rela- 
tion to instruction, and it is necessary for 
the teacher to understand both this relation 
and the distinction between them. Recita- 
tion, like study, is exclusively the scholar's 
work, while instruction belongs to the 
teacher. Study is the art of acquiring, the 
exercise of the mind in search of knowledge. 
Recitation is the art of expression ; and it is 
quite as important to gain the power of 
accurate expression as to gain the knowl- 
edge itself. Instruction has a much higher 



116 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

mission to perform than merely to impart 
knowledge ; it must also inspire thought, 
induce and direct study, and impart enthu- 
siasm. Instruction, if it is properly given, 
aids the pupil in self-application. Eecitation 
fails of its object as far it fails to cultivate 
the habit of correct expession. And the 
teacher must ever bear in mind that mental 
discipline is the primary object of study, 
instruction, and recitation. 

We come now to methods of conducting: 
recitation. "Method," says Payne, "is a 
special mode of administering an art, and an 
art is a practical display of science." This 
is true as applied to education. The teach- 
er's mode of exhibiting the notions of his art, 
is his method, good or bad, as it may be. 

'Now a good method of recitation or in- 
struction must be in accordance with nature. 
And if the teacher is to deal with children, 
or indeed with pupils of higher grade, he 



HOW TO TEACH. 117 

will learn his most important normal lesson 
in childhood's home. Let him go to the 
play-house and the play-ground, where the 
children, free and unrestrained, exhibit the 
only known example of perpetual motion. 
In this school of nature the child is con- 
stantly learning and reciting in the most 
effectual manner. Kindergarten is only the 
nursery transplanted and reduced to system. 
Let us examine this point more carefully. 
What is the child doing in his wild round of 
daily sport and pleasure ? I answer. He is 
studying and reciting "from morn till night." 
His lessons are the toys, the animals, the 
things, the objects by which he is sur- 
rounded. These constantly engross his at- 
tention and awaken his interest. His mind 
is alive to everything his eyes behold, his 
ears hear, and his fingers touch. But this 
is not all. He recites all these lessons to his 
brother, or sister, or mother ; or, if he can- 



118 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

not gain their attention, he directs his dis- 
course to some animal or inanimate object. 
This is the beginning, in Nature's school, of a 
"liberal education." "Nature," says Payne, 
"furnishes knowledge by object lessons, and 
trains the active powers by making them act. 
She makes the pupil learn to do by doing. 
She gives him no grammar, no compendiums 
of abstract principles. Action ! action ! is her 
maxim of training ; and things ! things ! are 
the objects of her lessons." 

When the object fails, the picture attracts 
the child's attention, and serves his purpose. 
He hails with delight the monthly visits 
of /St. JV^ichoIas, because the interesting 
stories it contains are forcibly illustrated by 
pictures. He knows the objects by sight, 
and the pictures which represent them. He 
never deals in abstractions. With the fact 
and the reasons, so far as he can understand 
them, he is satisfied, and all his acquired 



HOW TO TEACH. 119 

knowledge he continues to rehearse with 
enthusiasm. 

So far the child has dealt only with objects 
and pictures. With them he is familiar. 
He has learned to speak their names and to 
describe their qualities and action. Now he 
is to be introduced to the school, and the 
question is, how is he to be taught there? 
I answer. If the child's interest is to be 
preserved, if his school is to be made a 
source of pleasure and not of pain, if his 
education is to be prosecuted in the natural 
and most effective way, his school must be 
modelled after the home. He must still 
enjoy much freedom ; must never be con- 
fined to the school-room, with nothing to do. 
The unlettered child in the nursery and play- 
house teaches us how many blunders are 
made and how much harm has been done by 
false methods of conducting primary recita- 
tions at school. 



120 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

These recitations should embrace original 
accounts of his out-of-door sports and ad^cn- 
tures, and when not otherwise occupied he 
should be allowed to draw and write on the 
slate or black-board, under the teachers 
direction; and at all times and everywhere, 
he should be treated and taught as a child. 
And even when introduced to books, the 
child's recitation should be conducted after 
the same model, — having the play-house in 
view. As I have elsewhere expressed it, 
"The thing before the sign ; words before the 
alphabet; facts first, analysis afterwards, and 
the meaning always understood." Here, then, 
we are naturally introduced to what is 
termed the word system. 

We may first obseiwe that the child, up to 
this point, has learned to distinguish not 
only objects and pictures, huisil^o loords, and 
to speak these words as representing the 
object he sees or has in mind. He has 



HOW TO TEACH- 121 

already learned the name by sound. He is 
now to learn it by sight also ; and if he has 
learned all the words in a given sentence by 
sight, he can read that sentence correctly, and 
understand it. This is just what I would 
teach the child to do. For example, a sim- 
ple sentence like the following, containing 
short and familiar words, may be selected 
and printed upon the black-board : " Mary 
and Jane are two bright little girls, about 
ten years old." 

Now the class of children are called up 
to read, not their "A, B, Cs," of which 
they know nothing and care as little, but a 
luord lesson, whose sound and meaning they 
already understand. They do not yet know 
them by sight. This is the third step 
in the process of object teaching, namely, 
(1) The object, Mary; (2) The picture of a 
little girl called Mary; and (3) The ivord 
"Mary." 



122 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

The class all know the object and the 
picture, and now the word is to be learned 
hy sight. Let " Mary " be printed below, by 
itself, at the beginning of a new line, and let 
the class be drilled upon that word until it is 
as easily recognized as the person or picture. 
Next print " and " after Mary, and exercise 
the class upon "Mary and" in the same way. 
Then print " Jane " after "and," making the 
phrase "Mary and Jane," for a repetition 
drill. In this way continue to annex to the 
clause, one word at a time, " are " and " two " 
and "bright," until the sentence is completed, 
making each form of the partial sentence a 
separate review lesson, dwelling upon each 
word separately, and then reading the whole 
line in its order as far as it goes. This pro- 
cess is recommended when there is a black- 
board in the school-room, but no reading- 
chart for children. If there is no black- 
board, use slates for the same purpose. The 



HOW TO TEACH. 123 

reader need not smile at this "if" ; for there 
are many such school-rooms in our rural dis- 
tricts. I once heard the objection made by 
a " committee-man " to having a black-board 
in his school-room, that "it would take the 
attention of the scholars from their studies." 
But every school should have reading-charts, 
by the use of which this exercise can be 
easily and successfully conducted. In this 
way sentence after sentence will be rapidly 
learned and read with ease and fluency. 
From the black-board and the chart the class 
should be taken to the primary reader, and 
continue to recite words recognized at sight, 
and fully illustrated by objects and pictures, 
and clearly defined. I would have this 
method continued until the child becomes a 
ready and intelligent reader in books adapted 
to his age, before the analysis of the word (or 
spelling) is undertaken. The child should 
also be required to print and write and 



124 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

define these words as a part of every recita- 
tion. 

Another feature of a well-conducted reci- 
tation for children is a rehearsal of the story 
or item of history which the class has just 
read. In this process, spelling is taken up 
by the child as a matter of interest, and 
learned much more accurately and rapidly 
than in the old way. Punctuation and use 
of capitals become a part of each recitation, 
and the pupil progresses understandingly 
and with increasing interest from stage to 
stage in the process of his education. 

This brings us to another important result 
of this system of instruction. By reciting the 
words and thoughts of others found in books, 
under proper instruction, the pupil not only 
acquires the power of accurate expression, 
but also the power of thought. He learns 
to think for himself, and to express his 
thoughts in his own language, — to . think 



HOW TO TEACH. 125 

accurately, compare readily, and speak grace- 
fully. When this power is fully attained, the 
scholar is quite liberally educated. 

If what I have said of the relative impor- 
tance of school recitations in securing these 
practical results is true, each pupil in every 
class must recite at every session, to secure 
the full benefit of the school. It must fol- 
low, therefore, that classes in the common 
school, academy, or college should never be 
large ; should always be so small that each 
member can share in every exercise. One of 
my college professors could easily handle a 
class of thirty in a single hour, but, as a 
rule, a class of ten Is sufficiently large for an 
hour's drill. I admit that, in many cases, the 
evil of large classes cannot be avoided, but 
it is nevertheless a serious evil. Wherever 
large classes, instead of smaller ones, are 
approved, there is conclusive evidence of 
professional quackery. Any arrangement of 



126 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

classes which renders a daily personal drill 
upon the lesson impossible is a fruitful 
source of indolence and superficial scholar- 
ship, and must result in irreparable loss to 
the scholar. 

Nor can the Socratic method of conduct- 
ing recitations be approved, as a rule. 
Questioning should never take the place 
of recitation, for obvious reasons. It is 
useful sometimes, in connection with recita- 
tion, to direct the class to special thoughts 
or topics which have been overlooked, and, 
in examinations and reviews, to ascertain 
the scholar's standing. It requires much 
skill and care to question a class properly 
when it is allowable. No leading question 
can be tolerated either in the court or 
school-room. I will here illustrate this 
unpardonable method of conducting recita- 
tion, by an actual example, once reported by 
a visitor to one of the public schools in 



HOW TO TEACH. 127 

Massachusetts. The scholar was before his 
teacher, with "Colburn's First Lessons" in 
his hand, and was called upon to read the 
following example : " A man being asked 
how many sheep he had, said that he had 
them in two pastures ; in one pasture he 
had eight; and that three fourths of these 
was just one third of what he had in the 
other ; how many were there in the other ? " 
In other words : three fourths of eight is one 
third of what number? The boy paused, 
looked wise, scratched his head, but said 
not a word. 

" Well, my boy," said the teacher, " one 
fourth of eight is two, is n't it?" "Yes, sir," 
replied the boy. " Well, if two is one fourth, 
three fourths will be three times as many, 
won't it?" "Yes, sir," was the answer. 
"And thre? times two are six?" "Yes, 
sir." "Well, if six is one third, three 
thirds will be three times six, won't it ? " 



128 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

" Yes, sir." " And then three times six are 
how many ? " No answer. " Why, eighteen," 
said the teacher. And the boy answered 
again, "Yes, sir." 

This, I admit, is an extreme case, and 
occurred more than thirty years ago. Still, 
it is a sample of the kind of teaching that 
may be witnessed to-day in many schools in 
our New England c Wherever you find the 
teacher taking any part in reciting, you will 
find a relic of this old barbarism in peda- 
gogy. This is what I wish to impress upon 
my readers, that the scholar must do all 
the reciting. Hence leading questions may 
never be asked. 

Another important point here suggests it- 
self. Whether a question or a topic is to be 
presented, it should be put to the class 
and not to the individual, and should be 
put before the individual is called up. This 
is important as a means of fixing and hold- 



HOW TO TEACH. 129 

ing the attention of all, and of giving each 
the full benefit of the class drill. 

And the hour of recitation gives oppor- 
tunity for the cultivation of accuracy of 
thought and expression, which are of the ut- 
most importance in life. An anecdote will 
illustrate the result of loose methods of 
teaching and reciting. A father sent his 
son, who had graduated from a public school, 
to a neighbor's house to borrow a barrel, 
in which he proposed to confine his puppy. 
The boy had no written order, and hence 
must rely upon the inspiration of the mo- 
ment for language to express the idea and 
make known his errand. On his arrival he 
presented himself to the neighbor, and in 
his embarrassment in being obliged to de- 
liver a little extempore speech, he said, 
''Mr. B.^ father ivants to borrow an empty 
barrel of flour to maize our dog a hen-coop.'' 

To secure the advantage contemplated, 



130 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

much care must be taken in recitation : 

(1) To have the exact thoughts in mind; 

(2) To have it clothed in due form of lan- 
guage ; and (3) To have it presented to the 
pupil by the best method. Xor is this all that 
is required. The teacher must see to it that 
the answer to the question is accurate, logi- 
cal, and given in appropriate language. If 
any scholar fails to confine himself to the 
question or the subject, to arrange his 
thoughts in the proper order, or to express 
himself in suitable language, he should be 
required to repeat again and again, until the 
fault is fully corrected. 

Verbal recitations are of great importance, 
and serve a purpose which can be reached in 
no other way, but they should be inter- 
spersed with wi'itten recitations to gain 
an additional advantage. These bring the 
scholar at once under criticism in penman- 
ship, spelling, use of capitals, punctuation, 



HOW TO TEACH. 131 

grammar, and composition, none of which can 
be acquired in any other way. Spelling is 
of no use whatever except in composition, 
nor can the scholar learn to spell words cor- 
rectly when writing them unless he has much 
practice. Hence spelling should be taught 
mainly by writing. The art of composition, 
which includes correct grammar and the 
coiTCct use of capital letters and punctua- 
tion marks, is learned only by composing. 
Every pupil should, therefore, have some 
daily exercise to be expressed in writing, and 
be constantly drilled in this department, that 
he may become a " ready writer " as well as 
a sound scholar. 

Still again I will call attention to the 
hour of recitation, for the purpose of repeat- 
ing the declaration that it must be sacred to 
this special purpose, and that it belongs to 
the class only. The teacher has no right to 
spend any part of it in talking, reciting, or 



132 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

lecturing. There is a time to talk, explain, 
and lecture, but it is not while the class 
should be reciting. 

Lecturing bears the same relation to edu- 
cation as reading and travelling, and is, in the 
same sense, valuable for the scholar. In the 
school-room it must be confined to its own 
limited sphere. Its object is twofold, viz., 
to impart instruction, and to cultivate in the 
scholar the important habit of listening. To 
make the most of the lecture hour, the pupils 
should always be provided with note-book 
and pencil, and should eagerly record every 
important point and thought in the discourse. 
This will serve to fix the attention, and aid 
the memory in storing information. These 
are valuable results, but still more important 
is the habit of listening. That this habit is 
not formed in our families and schools, we 
have abundant evidence in the inattention 
and heedlessness of the public assembly. 



HOW TO TEACH. 133 

Many " hear but do not understand," because 
they have never learned to listen to a pub- 
lic speaker. Hence they return from the 
church or lecture-room without being able 
to tell so much as the text of the sermon, or 
the subject of the lecture. Of course they 
do not know the drift or substance of the 
discourse. It should be a special object in 
every school, to train the scholars to the 
habit of successful listening. How shall this 
be done? I answer, let the teacher, when- 
ever he gives a lecture before the school, 
require them to take notes, as suggested, and 
afterwards to recite the subject-matter of the 
discourse. In this way they will gain the 
power to follow the speaker with interest and 
protit. But while questioning and lecturing 
are useful incidentally, they must not set 
aside or interfere with independent topical 
recitation. This is the true method, as it 
throws the scholar upon his own resources, 



134 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

compels him to study, and enables him to 
acquire the power of accurate expression. 
Any method of instruction that ignores self- 
exertion and self-instruction is false and 
ruinous in its results. Thinking and reciting 
(I cannot repeat it too often) are the only 
means of educating. Hence to deprive the 
scholar of daily recitations is to rob him of an 
" inalienable right." But " I will get my les- 
son, I will keep up with my class," says the 
scholar, as he asks to be excused for the day 
or the week, to attend a circus or visit 
friends. "You will not recite them," answers 
the teacher, in urging punctuality at school. 
" Admitting that you will study your lessons 
faithfully, which is very doubtful, you will 
then lose, at least, one half the benefit of 
the school by your absence. Had you not 
better delay your pleasure-seeking and your 
visiting to vacation, the time allotted to rec- 
reations?" 



HOW TO TEACH. 135 

Another thought of. practical importance. 
The memory should never be made the de- 
pository of words or sy7nhols. Thoughts 
should be treasured there. I have known 
teachers in high positions to require the re- 
cital, verbatim, of such studies as history, 
Butler's analogy, and geometry. The result 
was, and always is, the pupils become un- 
thinking parrots, never scholars. They had, 
in many cases, perfect recitations, but really 
little or no knowledge of the subject of the 
lesson. On the other hand, I have known 
teachers who would never allow scholars 
(with the exception of captions, definitions, 
and fixed rules of 'syntax) to repeat the lan- 
guage of the book, but required them to give 
the thoughts (in their logical connection) 
in their oum language, subject to constant 
criticism by the teacher and the class. 
This last is the approved method. The 
author of 



136 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

"My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty," 
early acquired the habit of thinking and 
composing on his feet or in the saddle. 
He composed this masterly national hymn 
and most of his other productions (as he 
told me) while walking or riding. This 
ability is acquired only by practice, yet 
it is very important for every scholar, as 
a means of gaining confidence and self- 
possession when called upon to' testify in 
courts of justice or to speak in public. To 
cultivate this habit the pupil should be re- 
quired to stand in the presence of the class 
when reciting. Trained in this way, he will 
not be embarrassed when he rises to speak in 
lyceum or other assembly, as the case may be. 

As I have elsewhere suggested, I here 
repeat the caution that the teacher adopt 
some method of recitation which will make 
it impossible for the scholar to know before- 
hand what part of the lesson will be assigned 



HOW TO TEACH. 137 

to him. He should know exactly the limits 
of the assigned lesson, and the hour for reci- 
tation, that he may be fully prepared, but he 
should not know in what order the names of 
the class are written upon the teacher's cards, 
or what topic or question will come to him. 
This uncertainty will compel him to prepare 
himself thoroughly upon the whole subject 
every time. 

Silent as well as vocal recitations have a 
place and importance in every school. Fig- 
ures, diagrams, drawings, and paintings all 
come under this head. The scholar should 
be required to exercise great care in the 
execution of these lessons upon slate, black- 
board, and paper. If an example in arith- 
metic or algebra is wrought upon the board, 
or a page is written in the copy-book, or a 
map of some country is drawn, see that it 
is well drawn, or require that the work 1)e 
repeated. Free-hand drawing should be 



138 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

taught and practised in every school, and 
especially map-drawing in connection with 
the study of geography, as extensively as 
circumstances will allow\ 

Many teachers regard the school as a 
kind of grist-mill, into whose " hopper " the 
grist is poured and all ground out together. 
In organizing classes, assigning lessons, and 
hearing recitations they have no regard to 
the different capacity, attainments, and dis- 
positions of the scholars. They classify 
according to age, assign the same lessons to 
all, and when they have heard the lesson 
recited they suppose their work is done. 
This is a great mistake. Each class and 
each member requires special treatment. 
Each mind must worh if it is to be educated. 
Even genius can gain no practical power 
without the toil of self-culture. Hence the 
easy scholar must have assigned additional 
and more difficult lessons, and receive less 



HOW TO TEACH. 139 

assistance than the dull scholar, if he is to 
be equally benefited. 

When the studies of the classes are 
properly assigned and the school is in per- 
fect working order, special attention must 
still be given to individual peculiarities. 
I will here specify to the young teacher. 
Stimulate and press the indifierent ; encour- 
age and aid the timid and distrustful ; put 
upon the idle and self-sufficient a constant 
and severe pressure ; expose their ignorance, 
and make them feel the necessity of hard 
study, if they would stand well in their 
classes. By these means stimulus and in- 
struction can be so adapted to individual 
peculiarities that all will be successfully 
educated. 

If each scholar is to cultivate the habit of 
self-reliance and independent thought and 
action, he must do his own work. He may 
be assisted so far as necessary to save him 



140 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

from discouragement and failure, while he is 
doing his best to master the difficulties in his 
way, but '^^ never remove a difficulty which the 
scholar has the ])Ower to overcome.'^ This 
ought to be written in letters of gold over 
the desk of every school-room in the land. 
But how shall the recitation be made at- 
tractive and interesting? This is indispensa- 
ble to the attainment of the object in view ; 
yet how many fail to secure it. In answer- 
ing this question briefly, I will first suggest, 
the teacher's success in makinsr the recitation 
attractive and interesting depends both upon 
what he is and what he does. If he is an 
enthusiast in education, his enthusiasm has 
become contagious, and is manifested in the 
deep interest felt by the scholars in their 
studies. This interest on their part shows 
itself in the recitation-room, and will greatly 
aid the teacher in making the recitation at- 
tractive. But, after all, the recitation must 



HOW TO TEACH. 141 

be made interesting by the teacher's skill in 
conducting it. This is the severest test of 
his a])ihty. He must make special prepara- 
tion for every recitation ; must not only 
master every point in the lesson, but study 
variety and seek to bring forward new illus- 
trations from day to day ; and he must in- 
spire his class by his own earnestness. 

Now, if the teacher is all that he ought to 
be, he will accomplish this easily. When he 
possesses the necessary qualifications, enthu- 
siasm is the crowning excellence. This in- 
spiration speaks out in his voice, glows in 
his countenance, flashes from his eye, streams 
from his fingers, 'and infuses itself, like 
leaven, through the whole school. As the 
result, order prevails, fidelity is assured, 
earnestnesss is awakened, and sure progress 
is made at every step. 

One more suggestion of great importance 
in this connection. So teach that every les- 



142 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

son may b-scome to the scholar a practical 
lesson in life. If you have taught spelling 
thoroughly, your pupils will be able to spell 
accurately when writing a letter or a compo- 
sition. If you have taught grammar to any 
purpose, they will be able ''to speak and 
write correctly," with the proper use of capi- 
tals and punctuation marks. If you have 
taught arithmetic and book-keeping as they 
should be taught, they will be able to apply 
their principles to business transactions 
whenever called upon to do so ; to measure 
a pile of wood or a stack of hay, and estimate 
its value in cords or tons ; to make out a 
bill of goods by items, and give the exact 
amount ; to write and indorse a note ; to 
draw a check or draft ; to cast interest ; to 
estimate discount, with all its variations 
under different circumstances. There can be 
no other object in studying these branches 
(except the discipline they afford) but to 



HOW TO TEACH. 143 

enable the scholar to become an intelligent 
business man or woman. Yet I knew a 
graduate from college, a principal of a 
first-class New England academy, who did 
not understand what a patron meant who 
asked him " to draw on him for the amount 
of his bill " ; a pitiable illustration of the 
inefficiency of some of our public schools. 
Definite, practical knowledge of every sub- 
ject taught should be insisted on. The 
recitation should not only be correct, but 
thoroughly understood by the scholar, not 
only as matter of fact, but in its application. 
Showing the lack of such instruction, the 
following case, recently reported in a Boston 
daily paper, is in point : — 

"A school-girl was asked on returning 
home one evening what she had learned. 
She replied emphatically, ' Angle, two times 
many on the pond.' The puzzled family, 
who failed to understand the meaning of the 



144 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

lesson, were not able to receive any further 
elucidation. It was, ' Angle, two times 
many on the pond,' and only that. Fi- 
nally, the mother, who was slightly anxious, 
sought the teacher for information, and found 
that the children had been receiving a lesson 
in simple geometry, and that they had been 
taught to say in concert, 'An angle is two 
lines meeting at a point.' It was this truth 
that had left the impression on the child's 
brain of 'Angle, two times many on a pond.'" 
This reveals more than the stupidity of 
the girl, if she was stupid, viz., the inaccu- 
racy of both editor and teacher. The editor 
says, "It was tliis truth that had left the im- 
pression on the child's brain." What truth? 
That " an angle is two lines meeting at a 
point." This is not the true definition of 
an angle. The two lines w^hich do not meet 
at a point are as really an angle as those that 
so meet. It is the inclination of two lines 
meeting at a point that measures the angle. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 145 



PHYSICAL CULTUKE. 

npHIE most important and most neglected 
part of education is the training of the 
senses and faculties of the body. In order 
to insure entire success this training must 
begin in infancy, under wise and skilful man- 
agement. Exercise is the law of growth, 
whether applied to childhood or youth, and, 
if we would secure systematic and healthful 
development, this exersise must be regular 
and moderate in degree, voluntary, and in 
the open air. But in this connection I have 
to deal w^ith physical culture only in the 
school, and will here remark, it is not enough 
that the teacher sends out into the world 
young men and women with well-disciplined 
minds. They should have strong, healthy 
10 



146 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

bodies as well. Each organ and system 
should have full and ample development. 

The eye should be trained to accurate vis- 
ion and to careful and discriminating obser- 
vation. How many, for the lack of proper 
training of the senses, " have eyes but see 
not" ! They live in a world of infinite vari- 
ety and beauty, but they see nothing except 
such gross objects as are forced upon their 
attention. The changing aspect of the heav- 
ens, with its light and shade, with its gor- 
geous sunset and electric blaze flashing from 
the gathering cloud, attracts their attention 
only so far as the sunshine or storm is likely 
to affect their pleasure or their business. 
The floral display of blooming spring and 
the matchless colors of fading autumn have 
few charms for them. They see not the par- 
adise of flowers that decks the earth they 
tread upon, nor the glittering splendor of 
the heavens over their heads. Hence it is 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 147 

that nature has no charms for the untrained 
eye. What a loss of pleasure to human 
life, in consequence of this voluntary blind- 
ness ! Well may these exclaim with " the 
blind old bard," — 

" Seasons return ; but not to me returns 
Day, or the sweet approach of eve, or morn." 

And not only pleasure but utility requires 
the training of the senses. Observation is 
an important source of education. The 
immediate knowledge of the external world 
comes to the mind throus^h the senses of 
sight more than all the other senses. Indeed 
every other sense is pow^erless in dealing 
with distant obje(^ts and their relations to 
each other. The cultivated eye alone sees 
these objects as they are, and traces their 
relations to the universe of matter. Accu- 
rate observation has created the science of 
the material world. 

How many " have ears but hear not," for 



148 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

the want of physical culture ! They hear the 
peals of thunder, the sound of the falling cat- 
aract, the moaning of the wind, and all the 
jargon and rattle of the busy world. But 
they hear not the sweet music of nature ; 
they comprehend not the harmony of the 
trained human voice that gives eloquence 
its power and song its charms ; they feel 
not the emotions awakened through the 
trained ear by the touch of the master's 
fingers upon the organ's keys. 

And the other senses, taste, touch, and 
smell, are capable of wonderful improve- 
ment, as seen in the experience of every-day 
life. One sense, under culture, assumes the 
office of another. The hardness and soft- 
ness of bodies are really discoverable only 
by the sense of touch, yet we soon learn to 
determine this quality by the appearance. 
They looJc hard or soft. The physician 
learns to distinguish medicines by smell as 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 149 

well as taste. The grocer, to determine 
whether his cask is full or empty, does not 
look into the " bmig-hole" to see, but listens 
to the sound produced by a stroke upon its 
side. The remarkable attainments of the 
blind and deaf furnish other examples illus- 
trating this subject. The blind child reads 
with his fingers ; the deaf-mute hears with 
his eyes. We have account of one blind man 
who discovered the blindness of a horse by 
the peculiar sound of his feet in walking ; 
and another, who detected that one eye was 
blind by the touch, discovering the differ- 
ence in temperature. And often we notice 
the deaf catching' the words of a speaker 
by watching the motion of his lips and the 
changes of his countenance. 

When both sight and hearing are lost, 
touch and smell come to their relief. Laura 
Bridgman, whose fame is world-wide, has 
from childhood been deprived of all her 



150 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

senses except touch (or tact), and yet she 
has been taught to read, converse, and write 
rapidly with her fingers, to distinguish the 
quahties of color and sound, and to know 
her friends. She once discovered the pres- 
ence of her mother, who had come a lonof 
journey to visit her, by handling her shawl, 
with which she was familiar. 

Now from this susceptibility of the senses 
to extensive cultivation, contributing so 
largely to the happiness and usefulness of 
man, may be argued the importance of 
special attention to this branch of physical 
culture. Early attention should be given 
by every teacher to the training of the 
senses of his pupils. Especially should 
they be taught accurately to distinguish 
colors and shades, and to measure distance 
and magnitude by the eye. 

It is also the duty of the teacher to direct 
and control the physical circumstances aflfect- 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 151 

ing his pupils while under his special care. 
He should see to it that they suffer no harm 
from neglect or mismanagement ; that the 
conditions of school drill are regulated by 
the laws of health ; that no injurious or 
dangerous punishments are inflicted ; that 
a full supply of fresh air, light, and heat is 
always provided ; that unnatural postures 
are not allowed ; that excessive study is 
guarded against with great care. Still fur- 
ther, the teacher should encourage recreation 
and useful exercises as a means of physical 
development. Under this head come school 
gymnastics. Every muscle of the body, as 
well as every faculty of the mind, must be 
developed by exercise. Gymnastics, if prop- 
erly conducted, afl^brd a systematic and uni- 
form development of the whole body. 

Again, school gymnastics preserve and 
restore health. In my own experience, as 
principal of a ladies' seminary for twenty- 



152 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

six years, I relied upon this exercise more 
than all other means for the healthful con- 
dition of the school ; nor was I disappointed 
in the result. Seldom was severe sickness 
found in the family. During one year, it 
is remembered, from September to Sep- 
tember, with some hundred boarders, no 
case of illness occurred requiring the aid 
of a physician. This is only the natural 
result. Gymnastics secure the healthful 
flow of the blood, and impart vitality and 
vigor to every organ, enabling it to perform 
its own functions, and life flows on in unin- 
terrupted harmony. And when disease has 
disturbed this harmony and brought pain 
and debility to every part of the system, 
health and vigor are often restored by this 
remedy alone. 

Still again, free gymnastics afford a charm- 
ing method of physical recreation to relieve 
the weary mind from the effects of toil and 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 153 

the burdened atmosphere of the school-room ; 
tend to correct awkwardness of manner and 
to cultivate gracefulness, by giving ready 
control of the muscles, a natural and digni- 
fied carriage to the body, and an easy and 
graceful movement to the limbs ; greatly aid 
in school government, by securing unquali- 
fied obedience to the will and command of 
one master, and thus creating the habit of 
submission, self-control, self-government, and 
self-application, — indispensable in every 
well-regulated school ; and finally, correct the 
ruinous habit of ''tight lacing." Girls and 
young ladies cannot practise gymnastics in 
the fashionable dreSs which binds the mus- 
cles about the waist so firmly that free cir- 
culation and free respiration are impossible. 
The loose garb of the gymnast for the time 
releases the prisoner from her perilous 
bondage, and restores her natural freedom. 
Many in this way have been taught the folly 



154 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

and sinfulness of this fashionable method of 
suicide. Every teacher should do all in his 
power to hasten the day when "/ree air, free 
dress f and free gymnastics, ^^ the birthright of 
every child and youth in the land, shall be 
restored. Then the educational millennium 
will have dawned upon the nation with the 
hope of a glorious future. 

WitR so much as to the theory and utility 
of gymnastics as a school exercise, I will 
complete this chapter, in compliance with the 
earnest and expressed wish of many teachers, 
by reproducing exercises for practice, which 
were first prepared by Prof. F. G. Welch, 
M. D., of Yale College, and afterwards pub- 
lished, by permission, in pamphlet form, for 
use in her classes, by Miss Mary F. Orcutt, 
for six years teacher of gymnastics in Tilden 
Ladies' Seminary. 

Most of these exercises can be used in any 
school-room, and many of them without 
apparatus and music. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 155 



GYMNASTICS. 

THE DIO LEWIS SYSTEM. 

General Principles. — Position. — Free Gymnastics — 
Various Movements. — Bean Bag, Wand, Dumb- 
Bell, Ring, and Club Exercises. 

I CLAIM no originality here, so far as the sj'stem 
goes. For obvious reasons, I have scrupulously 
kept to the system. Most gladly do I accord the 
credit of its invention to Dr. Dio Lewis, as one 
eminently deserving all praise, as one who has done 
more for the cause of physical culture, and the 
physical welfare of men and women, than any other 
person. Thousands venerate his name, and will 
continue to do so through coming generations. 

I trust my own suggestions and additions may 
prove acceptable. My position as instructor in 
three of our first colleges, principal of a normal 
institute for physical culture, and in teaching 
thousands of both sexes, not only gives me the 
right, but enables me to assert and suggest many 
things from experience. 



156 SCHOOL KEEPING, 



GENERAii Principles. 

Position. — Heels together; toes out, so that the 
feet may form a right angle; head erect; shoulders 
and hips drawn back; chest forward; hands natu- 
rally at sides, unless otherwise specified. 

Tmie. — The system of numbering in those exer- 
cises intended to accompany music, viz., Free Gym- 
nastics, Wands, Dumb-Bells, Eings, and Clubs 
(with the exception of the Free Gymnastics, Short- 
hand, and the Anvil Chorus in the Dumb-Bell 
exercise), is this: Each number extends through 
what may be called one strain of 4-4 music, or eight 
accented and eight unaccented beats, or what in 
marching would be eight steps with the left foot 
and eight steps with the right; and time is kept by 
counting the numerals from one to eight for the 
heavy beats, and for the light beats the syllable 
"and." 

FREE GYMKASTICS. 

The exercises under this head are performed 
without apparatus, and are arranged in three series 
of equal length, and a chorus, so that when a class 
shall have become sufficiently proficient, each of 
the three series may be performed at the same time, 
by different portions of the class, and the chorus by 
the class all together. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 157 

The hands are to be firmly clinched, unless on 
the hips or otherwise specified. All thrusts are 
from the chest, unless otherwise specified. 

First Series. — Hand Movements. 

1. Thrust right hand down from the chest twice; 
left twice; alternate twice; simultaneous twice. 

2. Repeat No. 1, thrusting out at side. 

3. Eepeat No. 1, thrusting up. 

4. Repeat No. 1, thrusting in front. 

5. Right hand down once; left once; drumbeat 
(right a little in advance of left) once ; simultaneous 
once; same, out at sides. 

6. Repeat No. 5, thrusting up and in front. 

7. Right hand down once; left once; clap hands; 
same, out at sides. 

8. Repeat No. 7, thrusting up and in front. 

Foot Movements. 

9. Hands on hips; divide a circle about the body, 
with a radius of from two to three feet, into eight 
equal parts, by stepping forward, diagonal forward, 
at side, diagonal back, etc., with right foot, keeping 
left knee straight and the feet at right angles, ex- 
cept last two steps, bending right knee each step. 

10. Repeat No. 9 with left foot. 

11. Same movement, alternating right and left. 



158 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

12. Charge diagonal forward with right foot, ad- 
vancing with three steps, bending right knee, left 
straight; same on the left side; same diagonal back 
on right side ; same left. 

13. Repeat No. 12. Feet movements always per- 
formed quite slowly, with very slow time. " Music 
in the Air" is best. 

Body Movements. 

14. Hands on hips ; twist upper body half round 
to right, then to left, alternately, stopping in front 
on unaccented beats. 

15. Bend upper body to right and left. 

16. Bend forward and back. 

17. Bend body to right, back, left, front; then 
reverse, bending to left, back, right, front ; re- 
peat, becoming erect only on last beat. 

Head Movements. 

18. Same as 14, except that the head alone is 
moved. 

19. Same as 15, except that the head alone is 
moved. 

20. Same as 16, except that the head alone is 
moved. 

21. Same as 17, except that the head alone is 
moved. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 159 



Micellaneous Mo vemen ts . 

22. Arms extended in front, thumbs up, raise 
hands about a foot, and bring forcibly to shoulders. 

23. Arms horizontal in front ; raise right hand 
to perpendicular over head twice ; left twice ; alter- 
nate twice, and simultaneous twice. 

24. Thrust hands down, out at sides, up, in front, 
twisting the arms at each thrust ; repeat. 

25. Kepeat No. 24. 

26. Thrust hands to floor, not bending knees; 
then over head, rising on toes, opening hands at 
each thrust. 

27. Hands at sides open; swing them over head, 
clapping them ; at same time stepping right foot to 
left, and left foot to right, alternately. 

28. Stamp left foot, tlien right ; then charge 
diagonal forward with right ; bend and straighten 
right knee, at same tinie throwing arms back from 
horizontal in front. 

29. Repeat No. 28 on left side. 

Second Series. —Hand Movements. 

1. Thrust right hand down and up alternately. 

2. Kepeat No. 1 with left hand. 

3. Alternate, right going down as left goes up, 
and vice versa. 



160 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

4. Simultaneous, both down, then both up, etc. 

5. Thrust right hand to right and left alter- 
nately, twisting body when thrusting to left. 

6. Thrust left hand to left, and right twisting to 
right. 

7. Thrust both hands alternately to right and 
left, twisting body. 

8. Thrust both hands to right four times, to left 
four times. 

Foot Movements. 

9. Hands on hips; kick diagonal forward with 
right foot, three times, stamping floor on fourth 
beat; same with left. 

10. Kick diagonal back three times with right 
foot, same with left. 

11. Kepeat No. 9. 

12. Repeat No. 10. 

Arm Movements. 

13. Hands down at sides; raise 'stiff right arm 
forward over head four times ; left four times. 

14. Alternate four times; simultaneous four 
times. 

15. Raise stiff right arm sideways over head four 
times ; left four times. 

16. Alternate four times; simultaneous four 
times. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 161 

17. Arms extended in front; swing them back 
horizontally. 

Shoulder Movements. 

18. Hands at sides; raise right shoulder four 
times; left four times. 

19. Alternate four times; simultaneous four 

times. . 

Miscellaneous Movements. 

20. Hands down at sides; open hands and spread 
fingers four times; out at sides four times. 

21. Hands up; open four times; in front four 
times. 

22. Mowing movement from right to left, and 
left to right. 

23. Hands on hips; throw elbows back. 

24. Bend body down diagonal to right, and thrust 
right and left hands down alternately as near the 
floor as possible, four beats; same, bending diago- 
nally to left side. 

25. Eepeat :N'o. 24. 

26. Swing arms around in front, clasping shoul- 
ders, right hand above, then left above alternately. 

27. Hands on hips, stamp left foot, then right 
foot, charge diagonal forward with right, sway the 
body, bending right and left knees alternately. 

28. Repeat JN^o. 27, diagonal forward on the left 
side. 

11 



162 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

29. Kepeat diagonal back on the right side. 

30. Kepeat diagonal back on the left. 

Third SY.niT:s. — Attitudes and Percussion. 

1. Hands on hips; stamp left foot, then right; 
charge diagonal forward with right foot; inflate the 
lungs. 

2. Kemaining in the attitude, percuss the upper 
part of the chest. 

3. Eepeat No. 1, diagonal forward left. 

4. Repeat No. 2. 

5. Repeat No. 1, diagonal back, right side, 

6. Percuss the lower part of the chest. 

7. Repeat No. 1, diagonal back, left side. 

8. Repeat No. 7. 

Hand Movements. 

9. Hands clasped behind the back; raise and- 
thrust down. 

10. Hands down at sides, thumbs out; twist 
hands half round, four beats; hands out at sides, 
thumbs back, twist hands half round. 

11. Hands above the head, thumbs in, twist hands 
half round; hands in front, thumbs out, twist hands 
haK round. 

12. Palms together in front, slide right and left 
hand forward alternately, elbows straight. 



PHYSICAL CULTUKE. 163 



Shoulder Movements. 

13. Hands down at sides; describe forward circle 
with right shoulder four times; left four times. 

14. Alternate four times; simultaneous four 
times. 

15. Kepeat No. 13, making backward circle. 

16. Repeat No. 14, making backward circle. 

Arm Movements. 

17. Fists in armpits; thrust right hand down 
four times; left four times. 

18. Alternate four times; simultaneous four 
times. 

19. Fists upon the shoulders; thrust right hand 
up four times , left four times. 

20. Alternate four times; simultaneous four 
times. 

21. Right hand down from armpit, and left up 
from shoulder four times; left down from armpit, 
and right up from shoulder four times. 

22. Alternately right down and left up, and left 
down and right up, one strain. 

23. Simultaneous, both down, then both up, one 
strain. 

24. Hands down at sides; raise right hand to 
horizontal in front four times; left four times. 



164 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

25. Alternate four times ; simultaneous four 
times. 

26. Hands over head -, sway body to right and 
left alternately. 

Attitudes. 

27. Hands on hips, stamp left foot, then right; 
charge diagonal forward with right, looking over 
left shoulder. 

28. Eepeat IS'o. 27, diagonal forward left foot. 

29. Eepeat ]^o. 27, diagonal back right. 

30. Repeat Ko. 27, diagonal back left. 

Chorus. 

Music — Yankee Doodle (always). 

1. Repeat No. 1, first series. 

2. Clap hands. 

3. Percuss chest. 

4. Hop on right foot, eight times; left, eight 
times. 

5. Repeat No. 2; first series. 

6. Clap hands. 

7. Percuss chest. 

8. Leap right and left foot alternately eight 
times, both together eight times. 

9. Repeat No. 3, first series. 
10. Clap hands. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 165 

11. Percuss chest. 

12. Leap right and left foot alternately in front, 
and back (long step), one strain. 

13. Kepeat Ko. 4, first series. 

14. Clap hands. 

15. Percuss chest. 

16. Crossing feet one strain. 



wa:n^b exercises. 

In these exercises the hands are placed upon 
the hips, unless occupied in holding the wand. 
The wand is held at the right shoulder. Pirst sig- 
nal, pass the wand over in front, grasping it with 
the left hand, so that the wand becomes horizontal 
in front of the body. Second signal, raise the wand 
until the arms become horizontal in front of the 
body; place the handg'so as to divide the wand into 
three equal parts. Third signal, bring the hands 
back to sides. 

1. Raise the wand to chin four times; keeping 
elbows high, last time carry it above the head; bring 
wand from above the head to chin four times. 

2. Bring wand from above the head to the floor 
four times without bending knees or elbows; to 
back of the neck four times. 



166 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

3. Bring wand from above the head to chin, and 
back of the neck, alternately, four times each. 

4. Wand above the head; on first heavy beat, 
carry right hand to right end of wand; second, 
carry left to left end; then carry wand back of the 
head to hips six times, keeping elbows straight. 

5. Carry wand from above the head to front as 
near the floor as possible, and back of the head to 
hips, four times each. 

G. Carry wand from above the head to right and 
left sides alternately, bringing it to a perpendicular 
position; elbows straight. Do this on half time. 

7. First heavy beat, let go of the wand with 
the left hand, placing end of wand upon the floor, 
between the feet; second, place it diagonally for- 
ward on the right side, the length of the arm; 
charge the right foot to the wand six times; keep- 
ing right arm and left leg straight, and wand per- 
pendicular and still. 

8. Vice versa on left side. 

9. Repeat No. 7, with longer charge, and the 
charging foot remaining stationary, the knee bends 
and straightens. 

10. Vice versa on left side; turning the left-hand 
thumb down on first beat; bring wand into position 
for No. 11. 

11. Arms horizontal in front, wand perpendicu- 
lar, bring hands to chest eight times, elbows high. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 167 

12. Arms and wand same postion, bring wand to 
right shoulder and left, alternately, four times 
each. 

13. Hands upon front of chest; point the wand 
diagonally forward, right and left alternately, forty- 
five degrees. 

14. Pointing wand diagonally forward, right and 
left first strain, and diagonally backward second 
strain, charge diagonally forward right, diagonally 
forward left, diagonally backward left, diagonally 
backward right, diagonally forward left, diagonally 
forward right, diagonally backward right, diago- 
nally backward left; four strains in all, first two 
wand points forward, last two wand points back. 
Move on half time. 

15. Wand horizontal over head, right hand 
front, left back; reverse, twist half time through 
half a strain 

16. Wand the same, right face; bend over, 
bringing the wand to a perpendicular on right side, 
right hand up, four times. 

17. Same movement on left side. 

18. Same movement, alternately, right and left. 

19. First heavy beat, place left end of wand 
upon the floor at the feet; second, place it directly 
in front, the length of the arm; charge right foot 
to the wand three times, left three times. 



168 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

20. Charge right foot backward four times ; left 
four times. 

21. Right foot forward and back, same step, 
four times; left same. 

22. Kest first half of strain; last half charge 
right foot forward, same time left back, left for- 
ward, right back, etc. 

23. Face the front, carry the wand from perpen- 
dicular in front of right shoulder, left hand up, to 
perpendicular in front of left shoulder, right hand 
up, four times; fourth time carry it from front to 
back of left, then carry it from back of left to back 
of right four times, fourth time from back of right 
to front of right. 

24. Carry wand around the body from front of 
right to front of left, back of left, back of right, 
front of right, repeat, then reverse. 

25. Carry the wand from front of right to back 
of left four times; from front of left to back of right 
four times. 

26. Eight face; place left end of wand upon the 
floor, charge with right foot to the right side, back 
to the left side behind the left leg, same in front of 
left leg; vice versa left. 

27. Same movement as No. 26, right and left 
alternately. 

2S. Face the front, wand in front of chest, right 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 169 

hand down, bring left down, right down, etc., four 
beats; same movement, wand behind the centre of 
the back. 

29. Wand back of centre of head, charge diago- 
nally forward right foot, raising right end of wand 
forty-five degrees, then diagonally forward left, rais- 
ing left end of wand forty-five degrees. This is done 
the first half of strain, during the last half charge, 
in same manner, only turn the body more sidewise, 
keeping wand straight over head. 

30. Wand down horizontal in front, on first beat 
thrust perpendicular on right side, next beat same 
on left, so on through half strain. Last half in same 
manner, only charge right and left every time the 
wand is raised horizontally left. 

31. First half of strain same as first half of last 
exercise ; last half throw wand horizontally over the 
head on every charge. 

dumb-beLl exercises. 

In the attitudes of these exercises the bells are 
first brought to the chest, and then, unless otherwise 
specified, are placed upon the hips. 

EiRST Series. — First Set. 

1. Bells down at sides, and in same horizontal 
line, palms front, turn out ends in four times. Atti- 



170 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

tude. — Charge right foot diagonally forward, look- 
ing over right shoulder; head, shoulders, hips, and 
left heel, in diagonal line. 

2. Elbows on hips, bells forward and in line, turn 
out ends in four times. Attitude. — Charge left foot 
diagonally forward, look over left shoulder. 

3. Bells extended at sides and parallel, palms up, 
turn four times. Attitude. — Charge light foot diago- 
nally back, and look over right shoulder. 

4. Bells extended up, palms front, turn four 
times. Attitude. — Charge left foot diagonally back, 
and look over left shoulder. 

Second Set. 

5. Bells at chest, thrust down, out at sides, up, 
and in front. Attitude. — Twist body to the right, 
knees straight, bells extended up over head. 

6. Repeat ISTo. 5, except twist body to the left. 

7. Bells down at sides, bring right hand to arm- 
pit twice, left twice, alternate twice, and both twice. 

8. Bells on shoulders, thrust riglit up, left up 
both twice. Attitude. — Stand on toes, bells over 
head and parallel. 

Third Set. 

9. Bells extended in front, palms up, turn four 
times. Attitude. — Charge right foot diagonally 
forward, and look at left bell, which is extended. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 171 

10. Right bell up, palm in front, left bell out at 
side, palm up, turn four times. Attitude. — Charo-e 
left foot diagonally forward, and look at right bell, 
which is extended. 

11. Left bell up, right bell out at side, turn four 
times. Attitude. — Charge right foot diagonally 
back, both bells over head. 

12. Arms obliquely up at sides, palms up, turn 
four times. Attitude. —Charge left foot diagonally 
back, both bells over head. 

Fourth Set. 

13. Bells on chest, thrust right hand down, then 
up, then left down and up. Attitude. — Twist body 
to the right, thrust right arm obliquely up, left ob- 
liquely down, palms up. 

14. Thrust right down, left up, left down, right 
up, then both down, both up.. Attitude. — Same as 
attitude :N'o. 13, except twisting to left, etc. 

15. Thrust right in front, left front, both front 
twice. Attitude. — Long side charge with right foot, 
left resting on toe, bells above the head, 'arms, head, 
shoulders, hips, and left heel in same oblique plane, 
bells parallel. 

16. Bells out in front and vertical, swing both 
ninety degrees to right and back, left and back, re- 
peat. Attitude. — Same as attitude No. 15, except 
on left side, etc. 17. Wing. 



172 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

17. Bells in front, bring forcibly to chest four 
times. Attitude — Arms folded, bells on chest, bend 
body back. 

Second Series. — -Fir si Set. 

18. Stamp left foot, then right, charge at the side 
with right foot, right arm obliquely up, palm up, left 
obliquely down, palm down, bend and straighten 
right knee twice; vice versa on left side. 

19. Bells down and parallel at sides, swing right 
bell up, forward over head twice, left twice, alter- 
nate twice, simultaneous twice. 

20. Side charge to right, right bell up, left on 
shoulder, sway the body as in No. 18; vice versa on 
left side. 

21. Bells down at side, swing right bell up side- 
ways over head twice, left twice, alternate twice, 
simultaneous twice. 

22. Side charge to right, both bells over head, 
sway the body twice; vice versa left. 

Second Set. 

23. Hands clasping bells together, describe cir- 
cle over head from right to left, and from left to 
right, alternating. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 173 

Third Set. 

24. Stamp left, then right, long diagonal charge 
to right; position as in attitude of No. 15, bring bells 
to shoulder and thrust up; vice versa left. 

25. Bells vertical and parallel under ohm, throw 
elbows back horizontally. 

Fourth Set. 

26. Stamp left foot, then right, place right diago- 
nally forward, a little, swing bells forward, over 
head; back ninety degrees, then touch floor; vice 
versa on left side. 

27. Stamp left foot, then right, charge directly 
side wise right, right bell upon hip, left at side; 
swing left up over head. 

28. Same, charging sidewise with left foot. 

29. Bells extended in front and vertical, swing 
arms back horizontally. 

Fifth Set. 

30. Stamp left foot, then right, charge diagonally 
forward right, bells over head, bring to shoulder 
and return ; vice versa left. 

31. Elbows on hips, arms vertical at sides, twist 
four beats, then from chest thrust forward alter- 
nately two beats, and simultaneously two beats. 



174 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

32. Charge diagonally ])ackward with right foot, 
bells as in No. 30; vice versa left. 

Sixth Set. 

33. Grasp armful horizontally with right arm 
twice, left twice, alternate twice, simultaneous 
twice. 

34. Twist body to right, then left, swinging bells 
over head. 

35. Thrust bells to floor, then thrust them up, 
standing on toes. 

36. Bells on shoulders, thrust right out at side, 
palms up twice ; left twice, alternate twice, simul- 
taneous twice. 

37. Bells from shoulder to chest, thrust forward, 
raise over head, return to front, touch floor, back to 

front, etc. 

Seventh Set. 

38. French sword. Stamp left, then right, then 
mark time two beats with right, then charge right 
two beats, right arm extended, left in curve over 
head. 

39. Same on other side with left, eight beats ; 
alternate eight beats. 

Eighth Set. * 

40. Thrust left bell diagonally backward up forty- 
five degrees, right bell upon hip, advance right foot 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 175 

diagonally forward with four stamps, turning left 
bell each step ; vice versa left. 

41. First strain charge diagonally forward right 
and left alternately, thrusting left and right bells 
diagonally back ; second strain charge at side right 
and left alternately, arms in same position as in Xo. 
18, two beats, then arms as in i^o. 22, two beats. 

Mnth Set. 

42. Bells on chest, thrust right bell forward, 
swing right arm back in horizontal plane, half strain ; 
same left. 

43. Alternately eight beats, turn body to right, 
right arm extended, swingd ear round to left; then, 
left arm extended, swing round to right; continue 
eight times. 

Tenth Set. 

41. Side charge to right, right arm extended, bell 
vertical, left bell swung vertically over in circle 
twice, bending right and left knee, alternately ; vice 
versa left. 

Anvil Chorus. 

1. Left bell in front, right back of the neck, 
swing right bell over head to front, striking left 
bell, left swings down and back to position behind 
the neck, right remaining in front*; repeat same, 



176 SCHOOL KEEPINa. 

swinging over left bell ; same, swinging right bell 
down by side, striking left from under instead of 
over ; same, left. Eepeat over one strain, under- 
neath one strain. 

2. Anvil twice over, twice under; charge diago- 
nally forward right and left twice each, swinging 
bells up from sides, striking them over head. 

3. Repeat No. 1. 

4. Repeat No. 2, except charging diagonally 
backward. 

5. Repeat No. 1. 

6. Swinging arms in horizontal plane, striking 
bells front and back twice each, then swing in per- 
pendicular plane, striking bells twice overhead, and 
once down behind the body. 

7. Repeat No. 1. 

8. Same movement as No. 44, of second series, 
striking bells together. 

9. Repeat No. 1. 

10. Same movement as No.^S, alternately. First, 
strike over one strain, then under one strain, then 
for the first four beats of each exercise, twice over 
and twice under, the other four taken in performing 
the four charges. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 177 



RING EXERCISES. 

These exercises are performed by couples. Part- 
ners stand at commencement about three feet 
apart, facing each other, gentlemen holding a ring 
in each hand. 

FiKST Series. — First Set. 

1. On first beat the ring in right hand is pre- 
sented in a vertical plane, and grasped by right 
hand of partner; second, right toes are placed 
together; third, left feet step back, and left hands 
are placed upon hips, ring is turned into a horizon- 
tal plane, turn the ring the other side up and back 
the remainder of the number. 

2. Same movement, except left for right, and 
vice versa. 

3. Same as No. 1, ^except both hands hold rings. 

4. Same as No. 3, except left toes are together. 

Second Set. 

5. First, turn back to back; second, place left 
feet together; third, charge out with right, turn 
rings through number. 

6. First, place right feet together; second, charge 
out with left, turn rings. 

12 



178 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

7. First, turn face to face; second, raise arms 
above the head, bend down and touch rings to floor, 
not bending knees, twice; arms above the head, 
bring them down to sides alternately two beats, 
simultaneous two beats. 

Third Set. 

8. First, turn back to back; second, left face, 
place hands on shoulders, thrust up, out at sides, 
down twice each. 

9. Thrust up, out, down, once each through 
eight beats. 

Fourth Set. 

10. First, left face; second, turn face to face; 
third, place left foot inside of left of partner; fourth, 
right foot back and right hand to right shoulder, 
left to partner's right shoulder, pull back and forth. 

11. Same with right feet together, etc. 

12. Eest first half of strain; last half, right foot 
and hand forward same time, left back, left forward, 
right back, etc. 

Fifth Set. 

13. First, back to back, charge diagonal forward 
right and left alternately. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 179 



Sixth Set. 

14. First, face to face; second, right foot inside 
right of partner's; third, left feet step back, lady 
sways down towards gentleman, then back to posi- 
tion; gentleman sways down towards lady, etc. 
Rings over head, arms stiff. 

15. Same with left feet together. 

Seventh Set. 

16. First back to back, charge up and down the 
hall alternately, twice each, alternately right feet at 
same time, left same. 

17. First, face to face, charge same as Xo. 16. 

18. First, back to back; second, right face; third, 
step about two feet apart, raise outside arms and 
inside arms alternately and simultaneously, change 
on five. 

Secois'D ^-rj-es. — First Set. 

19. First, left face; second, turn face to face; 
third, spring apart, placing right feet pointing 
toward each other, left back at right angles with 
right, right hands grasping rings, charge with right 
feet to right side of partner, stopping suddenly at 
horizontal plane when coming to position. 

20. Same, using right for left, and left for right. 



180 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

21. Same, holding rings in both hands, and 
charging right and left alternately, right foot to 
left side of partner, left to right. 

Second Set. 

22. First, approach; second, turnback to back; 
third, place left feet together; fourth, step out with 
right, touch shoulders, arms horizontal. 

23. Same, using right for left, and left for right. 

Third Set. 

24. First, face to face; second, left face, swing 
up outside and inside arras alternately, turn face 
and body each time. 

25. First, back to back, swing over outside and 
inside arms alternately, twice each, simultaneously 
three times. 

26. First, turn face to face with outside arms; 
second, back to back with outside arms; same with 
inside arms, etc. 

Fourth Set. 

27. First, left face; second, left feet together; 
third, swing hands over head and step forward with 
right foot, bend and straighten right knees. 

28. Same movement with right feet together. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 181 

Fifth Set. 

29. First, face to face, step alternately rii^ht feet 
diagonally forward to left of partner, and left feet 
to right. 

QUABTETS. 

1. First signal, join hands with neighboring 
couple, by presenting hand holding ring; second 
signal, all face the stage; third signal, outside 
couple pass under the raised ring of the other 
couple, bringing rings to shoulders. 

2. Stamp left foot, then right, charge with right 
opposite nose; sink rest of strain, hands arching 
over head; same with left foot. 

3. Throw up end hands twice, side hands twice; 
then alternately, then simultaneously. 

4. Charge ends, charge sides, repeat; charge 
front, right foot and left, repeat. When you charge 
ends, throw end hands up straight; when sides, 
side hands up; when in front, all hands up together. 

SHOETHAND. 

Remarks. — Free Gymnastics. —Wands. — Dumb-Bells. 
— Anvil Chorus. — Rings. 

In teaching my normal classes, where there is 
much mental as well as physical work both for 
pupils and teacher, experience has led me to invent 



182 



SCHOOL KEEPING. 



and adopt the following Shorthand, which I have 
found of great importance and convenience. It 
saves much trouble, is interesting to the pupil, is 
easily learned and readily retained. Herein is the 
whole system in a nutshell, and I feel assured that 
every person who studies Gymnastics will find it 
useful. 

TREE GYMNASTICS. 
First Series. 



No. of 
Strains. 

1. Hands 4 

2. Feet 6 

3. Body 4 

4. Head 4 

5. 17 Dumb -Bells 1 



Ko.of 
Strains. 

6. Clubs 1 

7. Twisted thrusts 2 

8. Touching floor 1 

9. Steps with clapping 

hands 1 

10. Swayiog, swinging arms. 2 



Second Series. 



1. Hand movements, down 

and up 4 

2. Hand movements, at sides, 4 

3. Kicks 4 

4. Raising arms 4 

5. Swing back arms 1 

6. Raising shoulders 2 



7. Open hands 2 

8. Mowing movement 1 

9. Elbows back 1 

10. Sawing movement 2 

11. Warming bauds 1 

12. Charges and ewaying. ... 4 



Third Series. 



1. Attitudes and percussion. 8 

2. Clasped thrusts 1 

3. Twisting hands 2 

4. Palm slide 1 

5. Rolling shoulders forward, 2 

6. Rolling shoulders back- 

ward 2 



7. Thrusting from armpits, 2 

8. Thrusting from shoul- 

ders 2 

9. fomMnation 3 

10. No. 1 Clubs 2 

11 . Mast movement 1 

12. Attitudes 4 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 



183 



WANDS. 



Mrst Set. 

No. of 
Counts. 

Signals 4 

Up to chin 4 

Down to chin 4 

Down to floor 4 

Buck of neck 4 

Forward and back of neck. . . 8 
Right and left hand out 2, 

back 6 8 

Forward and back 8 

Sidewise 8 

Second Set. 

Diagonal charges, right and 

left 16 

Diagonal swaying, right and 

left 16 

Thrust to chin 8 

Shoulder arms 8 

Ready for charges 8 



Third Set. 



Charges 



Fourth Set. 



Turning over head 4 

Indian Canoe 12 



Fifth Set. 

No. of 
Counts. 

Short steps 24 

Resting and hopping 8 

Sixth S«t. 
Rotary 24 

Seventh Set. 
Long side steps 24 

Eighth Set. 

Turning in front 4 

Turning in back 4 

Mnth Set. 

Diagonal charges, wand ob- 
lique 4 

Diagonal charges, wand over 
head 4 

Tenth Set. 

Inverted thrusts 4 

Diagonal charges, wand ob- 
lique 4 

Inverted thrusts 4 

Diagonal charges, thrusts 

over head 4 



DUMB-BELLS. 
First Series. 



First Set. 

1. Bells at side. Attitude, 

diagonally forward, 
right 

2. Forearms in front. Atti- 

tude, diagonally for- 
ward, left 



3. Arms extended at side. 

Attitude, diagonally 
back, right 8 

4. Arras extended overhead. 

Attitude, diagonally 
back, left 8 



184 



SCHOOL KEEPING. 



Second Set. 

No of 
Counts. 

5. Thrusts all around, twist 

to right 8 

6. Thrusts all round, twist 

tcvleft 8 

7. Bells to the armpits sing- 

ly, alternately and sim- 
ultaneously 8 

8. Bells from shoulders. At- 

titud :., on toes 8 



Third Set. 

9. Arms horizontal in front. 
Attitude, diagonally 
forward, right, left bell 

extended 

10. Right arm perpendicular, 
left horizontal. Atti- 
tude, diagonally for- 
ward, left, right bell 
extended 



No. of 
Counts. 

11. Left arm perpendicular, 

right horizontal. Atti- 
tude, diagonally back, 
right, both bells ex- 
tended 8 

12. Bells half way. Atti- 

tude, diagonally back, 
left, both bells ex- 
tended 8 

Fourth Set. 

13. Kingle thrusts, twist to 

right 8 

14. Alternate and simultane- 

ous thrusts, twist to 
left 8 

15. Forward thrusts, long 

side charge to right ... 8 

16. Swaying bells, long side 

charge to left 8 

17. Wing 8 

18. Waking up 8 



Second Series. 



First Set. 

1. First charge 8 

2. First exercise 8 

3. Second charge 8 

4. Second exercise 8 

5. Third charge 8 



Second Set. 
6. Bells clasped 



Third Set. 



7. Long diagonals 

8. Bells vertical in front. 



Fourth Set. 



9. Floor charges 

10. Side charges 

11. Ar.ms back from horizon- 

tal 



Fifth Set. 

12. Short diagonals, forward 

and back 

13. Power's exercise between, 

Sixth Set. 

14. Armful 

15. Swing bells and twist 

body 

16. Sitting charge 

17. Shoulders 

18. Front floor charge 

Seventh Set. 

19. French sword 



16 



Eighth Set. 

20. Stamping and stepping . . 

ninth Set. 

21. Twisting body and swing- 

ing bells, or No. 42 



22. Anvil. 



Tenth Set. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE. 



185 



Antil Chohus, or Third Series. 



^0. of 

Counts. 

1 Anvil over 8 

2. AnvH under 8 

3. Anvil, two over and two 

under 4 

4. Forward diagonals 4 

5 Anvil 4 

6 Backward diagonals 4 

7. Anvil 3 



No. of 
Counts. 

8. Striking bells 4 

9. Anvil 4 

10. Regular anvil to right. . . . 4 

11. Anvil 4 

12. Regular anvil to left 4 

13. Anvil 4 

14. Regular anvil, alternately, 5 

15. Anvil, changes all round. 



EINGS. 

First Series. 



First Set. 

1. Right hand, right foot ... 8 

2. Left hand, left foot 8 

3. Both hands, right foot... 8 

4. Both hands, left foot 8 

Second Set. 

5. Turn, left feet together, 

step out right 8 

6. With right feet together, 

step out left 8 

Third Set. 

7. Turn, rings down to 

floor, right and left 
side 4 

8. Swinging rings, alternate- 

ly and simultaneously'. 4 



Fourth Set. 



9. Turn, tifeuble and single 
thrusts 

Fifth Set. 

10. Turn, pulling 

11. Resting and hopping .... 

Sixth Set. 

12. Diagonal charges 

Seventh Set. 

13. Sinking 

Fighth Set 

14. Side charges 

mnth Set. 

15. Side arching 



16 



Second Series. 



Tenth Set. 
16. Long steps 24 



17. 



Eleventh Set. 
Shoulders 16 

Twelfth Set. 

Picture frame 8 

Toilet 8 

Hopping 8 



Thirteenth Set. 
21. Temptation and Resist- 





ance 


.. 3? 




Fourteenth Set. 




9.9.. 


Arching 


.. 16 




Fifteenth Set. 




9-^ 




.. 8 




Sixteenth Set. 




24. 


Quartets 


.. 8 



186 SCHOOL KEEPING. 



VI. 

MOKALS AKD MANNERS. 

" 4 SERMON and a book of etiquette," says 
a handbook on habits of good society, 
"have most erroneously been taken as the 
antipodes of literature. The one is a neces- 
sary appendix of the other. The missionary 
of the South Sea Islands would tell you that 
it is useless to teach the savage religion with- 
out the addition of a few rules of courtesy." 
Again, "Let us call no society good till we 
have sounded both its morals and its man- 
ners." Here the fact is recognized that 
morals cannot be divorced from manners with- 
out destroying the life of both. The state 
of society in which either morals or manners 
have been neglected is either low, vulgar, or 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 187 

dangerous, as the case may be. Hence we 
see the propriety of connecting morals and 
manners in this chapter, and the importance 
of teaching both in the school. 

I propose now to discuss briefly the im- 
portance and method of moral culture. By 
moral training I mean rehgious training ; 
for there is no morality that is not founded 
in religion. I do not mean dogmatic or sec- 
tarian religion. Such training should have 
no place in the free schools of a free country, 
where all religious sects are tolerated. 

Morals, as defined by Worcester, is " The 
practise of the duties of life ; obedience to 
the moral law ; morality." This moral law 
is found in the Scriptures. Hence the Bible 
should be authority for all moral instruction. 
Whether used as a text-book or not in our 
schools, it should be the source from which 
all moral and religious instruction should be 
drawn. The Decalogue, in the Old Testa- 



188 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

ment, and the moral lessons of the Great 
Teacher of our race, in the New, contain the 
important truths which should be taught our 
children in the family and in the school. 
They recognize God's existence and attri- 
butes ; our relations and duties to Him, and 
to our fellow-beimgs, and the great truth of 
man's immortality. These are the acknowl- 
edged truths of Christianity, and should 
never be excluded from any school-room. 
The object of education is not merely nor 
mainly to learn the art of reading, writing, 
and arithmetic ; to learn how to buy and sell 
commodities, and the facts of history, phi- 
losophy, and ethics. These are important, 
but the real end of education is to build up 
character. But character, if it is to become 
a blessing to the individual or the world, 
must be founded upon moral and religious 
truth. And as the formation of character is 
a process covering the whole period of child- 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 189 

hood and youth, it cannot be properly 
exchided from the school. Teachers as well 
as parents " should impress upon the minds 
of those committed to their care and instruc- 
tion, the principles of piety and justice, and a 
sacred regard for truth ; love of their coun- 
try, humanity, and universal benevolence ; 
sobriety, industry, and frugality; chastity, 
moderation, and temperance ; and should 
also point out to them the evil tendency of 
the opposite vices." This is the language of 
the statutes of our own Commonwealth. 

But how should morality be taught in our 
schools? This is a practical and important 
question. Some suggestions may aid the 
young teacher in this delicate and important 
work. First, the teacher must exemplify, 
in his own life, a character that is above 
reproach or suspicion. The silent influence 
of example is more potent than instruction. 
To meet this requirement fully, the teacher 



190 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

must be a consistent and practical Christian, 
and free from every degrading habit. He 
has no more right, as an example for children, 
to smoke or chew tobacco or drink intoxicat- 
ing liquors as a beverage, than he has to lie, 
or steal, or swear. He must be a model 
of excellence himself, if he would impress 
moral instructions upon his pupils. Sec- 
ondly, I have, in another connection, sug- 
gested the propriety of opening the school 
each day with a short devotional exercise. I 
here repeat the recommendation, in view of 
its moral and religious influence upon the 
school. This exercise should be brief, ap- 
propriate, and marked by its devotional 
spirit. A recent writer upon moral train- 
ing has suggested the following form : 
"When the hands of the clock indicate 
that the time for opening has come, let the 
pupils be in their seats ; and, when there 
is absolute stillness in the room, not be- 



M0EAL8 AND MANNERS. 191 

fore, let the teacher take the Bible rever- 
ently in his hands and read, slowly, half a 
dozen verses. Then let him repeat, slowly 
and devoutly, the prayer with which all are 
familiar, and then let the children sing two 
stanzas of some familiar hymn. It may take 
less than five minutes for all of this ; but if 
it is done, as it should be, in a subdued and 
devout spirit, it will have an efi'ect upon all 
the subsequent work of the day. Moreover, 
it will lead the children to respect and ven- 
erate all the counsels the teacher may give." 
Thirdly, the teacher should draw a moral 
precept from every lesson, and impress it 
upon the class, whether it be lanorua^e, 
history, mathematics, or science that is 
recited, from day to day. Every subject has 
its moral aspect which may be turned to 
good account before a class. The organs 
of speech and language itself are a divine 
gift to man, history is the scripture of Prov- 
13 



192 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

idence ; science reveals a part of God's 
everlasting truth, and figures "do not lie." 
Hence we may find ample material for in- 
structive moral lessons in the routine of 
school exercises. 

Fourthly, the teacher should mark the 
current events of the school-room, and of 
the busy world as revealed in the news- 
papers, and impress upon his pupils a 
moral lesson drawn from each. A child 
has told a falsehood. At some suitable 
time let the sinfulness and evil conse- 
quences of lying be explained before the 
school, and, if possible, get an expression 
of disapproval and condemnation of such 
conduct. Another pupil has told the truth, 
under the pressure of strong motives to tell 
a lie. Let the heroism and nobleness of 
such an act be highly commended. A 
murder has been committed in some low 
groggery in city or town. Here you have 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 193 

a fruitful subject for half a dozen little 
(Monday morning) talks before the school, 
in which you will dwell upon the temptations 
and influences that have been brought to 
bear upon that unfortunate man since he 
was an innocent boy in the home and in the 
school, to change his character and make 
him a murderer. Group the vices in which 
he has indulged, lying, stealing, swearing, 
drinking, and show the influence they have 
had upon him in forming his now ruined 
character, and expose the nature of the 
traffic in alcoholic drinks, so fearfully in- 
strumental in exciting the passions and fos- 
tering the crimes that curse society. Now a 
noble act of heroism and self-denial for the 
good of others has been achieved, and the 
facts have been published to the world. 
Here is another delightful theme for a 
familiar lecture before the school which 
cannot fail to do good. 



194 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

These are some of the ways which I 
recommend to impart moral and religious 
instruction in school, and they suggest 
other methods which the teacher can adopt 
at discretion. Their object is to prevent 
the evil, to encourage the good, and in so 
doing, to build up a character worthy of true 
manhood. And, as before intimated, this 
moral training has an important bearing 
upon school government, and is the true 
method to be adopted in the management 
of the school. 

Now, I insist that it is as really impor- 
tant to the end in view, that the teacher in- 
struct his pupils in manners as in morals. 
A strong additional reason is found in the 
fact that the subject has been, and is, so 
generally neglected in the family and in 
the school. Our public school should be a 
school of good manners, and hence every 
teacher should be a gentleman or a lady 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 195 

ill the truest sense oi these terms. This 
should be one test of qualifications in every 
examination by school boards. 

For the aid of teachers who desire to 
join in this noble work of reform in our 
schools, I will here append some principles 
and precepts of good behavior, compiled 
from the most reliable sources, — such as 
have been adopted by the cultivated and 
refined in difierent ages. 

There are some indispensable requisites 
for those who would appear to advantage 
in society. First among these is education; 
not necessarily the education of the univer- 
sity and the boardi«g-school, but such as 
secures the development of the mental 
powers, and imparts so much culture and 
information as is necessary to enable its 
possessor to comprehend and apply his 
knowledge in conversation upon a wide 
range of subjects. 



196 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

No less important to the end in view is 
the cultivation of the taste. This requires 
an acquaintance with art, some knowledge of 
music, painting, architecture, etc. ; at least, 
so much should be known as the names 
and correct pronunciation of the more cel- 
ebrated artists, composers, architects, and 
sculptors, and the several schools to which 
they belong. A cultivated taste gives power 
to discriminate, and to enjoy the works of 
art, and the intelligence gained upon these 
subjects furnishes material for conversation. 

Again, the faculty of reason plays an im- 
portant part in good society. It not only 
has a high moral value, but it enables one 
to aro^ue as well as to listen to the aro^u- 
ments of others. While the laws of civility 
do not allow excited disputation in the 
social circle, they do allow discussion in 
which all may engage in a pleasant way. 
In this all should be qualified to take part. 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 197 

And to these requisites must be added 
the art of fluent and graceful conversation. 
This requires an accurate knowledge of our 
own language ; yet no part of education in 
our schools is so much neglected. The 
Latin, Greek, French, and German are fre- 
quently studied by those who do not thor- 
oughly know even the rudiments of the 
English language. These may be studied 
as a means of acquiring good English, but 
7iever to the neglect of it. As the best 
society is that in which the best thoughts 
are interchanged in the best manner, it fol- 
lows that proper regard must be had to the 
art of expression. This art requires some 
practical knowledge of rhetoric, which may 
be attained in the school, or by the faithful 
study of English literature. 

I will here remark, due respect for moral 
and religious character is a distinguishing 
mark of good breeding. The vile scoffer has 



198 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

no place in refined society. Though party 
politics and sectarian religion may never fur- 
nish topics for disputation in social circles, 
yet no man should sit still and hear sacred 
things blasphemed, or his friend's character 
assailed. The reprobate who will indulge in 
such improprieties on such occasions should 
be cast out. 

Well-ascertained rules of social intercourse 
are as necessary to regulate society as laws 
are to govern the state. These are the rules 
which are defined by urbanity^ civility ^polite- 
ness, good manners, good breeding, good 
behavior. Eegulated by these, persons are 
able to render themselves agreeable in all 
the relations of life. But let it not be for- 
gotten that the basis of good manners impure 
morality. A bad man may be easy and pol- 
ished in his manners, but he cannot be 
refined. 

Here I will introduce some general pre- 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 199 

cepts upon our subject. Cheerfulness is an 
essential element of good breeding, as it 
tends to elevate its possessor and make others 
happy. A polite person is quiet and unob- 
trusive ; hence loud laughter, stamping with 
the feet, and any bustling conduct in com- 
pany are inconsistent with politeness. Kind- 
ness, charity, and forbearance should regu- 
late all our expressions in regard to the frail- 
ties and faults of our fellow-men ; therefore 
gossip, and ridicule, and detraction cannot be 
indulged under the rules of urbanity, but 
rather, a charitable construction of known 
defects of our neighbors should always be 
given. True gentility treats no person with 
contempt, malice, or envy, and is especially 
kind to the lowly, the infirm, and the aged. 
Politeness springs from modesty, unselfish- 
ness, and generosity ; hence etiquette is only 
the outward form of politeness, and too often 
its mere counterfeit. Its essence consists in 



200 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

SO conducting ourselves in word and manner, 
that others may not be offended but pleased 
with us. Let us see how this view of 
politeness applies to the " etiquette of the 
weed," under the rules which have been 
given to limit the indulgence of the smoker. 
Here are some of them : " One must never 
smoke or even ask to smoke in the company 
of ladies." "One must never smoke in a 
public place where ladies are or might be, 
nor in the streets.^' "One must never smoke 
in a close carriage, in a theatre, or in a 
church." "One must never smoke when 
anybody shows objection to it." Now, if 
true politeness requires these restrictions in 
this use of the weed, where on earth and 
when can the gentleman indulge in this filthy 
habit? I answer, he may smoke (if he 
must) in "some vast wilderness" where 
civilized man cannot be found. He may 
smoke in the second-class "smokiijof-car " 



MOKALS AND MANNEKS. 201 

where no ladies ever go ; or in the open 
tobacco-field or goat-pen, where he will find 
the only animals, except man, w^hich ever 
use the weed ; or in the pest-house when 
he wishes to ward off a contagion, the pesti- 
lence or plague. He may take his own time, 
provided he confines himself to the places 
not prohibited by the rules of civility, and 
exchanges his clothing before he returns to 
civilized society. But the teacher should 
not have quite so much liberty as other 
"gentlemen," for he cannot smoke at all, 
without setting a bad example to his own 
pupils. The precept "that the true gentle- 
man will seek to avoid giving offence to any- 
body," is a little hard on a multitude, both 
young and older, who claim to be gentlemen, 
and yet every day walk the streets puffing 
tobacco smoke in the faces of all who come 
in their way. I will here submit this ques- 
tion, and will pass on to other examples. 



202 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

Everything offensive to those with whom 
we associate must be avoided, under the 
rules of politeness. Hence "sniffling, snuff- 
ing, spitting, and the like may never be 
indulged in society. Coughing, sneezing, 
clearing of the throat, and such other noisy 
habits as cannot be avoided, should be done 
quietly.^' "Truthfulness, gracefulness, con- 
siderateness, unselfishness, are essential to 
the breeding of a true gentleman ; much 
more so to the breeding of a true lady." I 
do not see why more is required of the lady, 
thouo'h I admit that " her tact is readier, her 
instincts finer, and her sympathies tenderer 
than those of man." The true lady is the 
light of her home, and the very personifica- 
tion of etiquette in conducting its hospi- 
tality. Her domestic appointments are 
always in order, but " she never makes her 
servants, her dinner arrangements, her nur- 
sery, or her household affairs a subject of 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 203 

conv^ersation." "Good breeding may be 
ranked with the fine arts in its refining and 
elevating influence uj^on character." 

Personal cleanliness is nearly related to 
gentility and moral purity. Hence it is 
urged, under the rules of good breeding, as 
of great importance. Under the same rules, 
a man's dress must be neat, clean, simple, 
and appropriate. " A man so attired will 
pass muster anywhere." Fashion is a des- 
pot, whose slaves are women more than men. 
A man of sense and modesty follows fashion 
only so far as not to make himself peculiar 
by opposing it. The love of dress is natural 
in WQjnan, but, if she is sensible, it does not 
engross every other taste. " It is only the 
coquette's heart that Addison describes as 
stuffed with 'aflame-colored hood.'" Indif- 
ference and inattention to dress is a defect 
and not a virtue. The love of dress is to 
be commended so long as good taste, con- 



204 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

sistency, and practicability are kept in view ; 
but uncontrolled and stimulated by personal 
vanity, it becomes first a temptation and 
then a curse. Extravagance in dress begets 
extravagance in fashion, which absorbs every 
thought and consumes every element of true 
womanhood. That person, man or woman, 
is the most properly attired whose dress is 
so neat, simple, and appropriate as to attract 
no attention or remark. 

A well-bred person may be recognized by 
his hearing. "He never lolls or lounges, or 
supports his arms or legs upon the furniture, 
or puts his feet upon the rounds of chairs ; 
he never throws his arms over the railing of 
the pew, or leans against it slouchingly while 
at church. He sits upright, with his feet 
upon the floor, in a quiet manner." Awk- 
wardness of attitude, whether in man or 
woman, furnishes the same evidence of vul- 
garity as awkwardness of speech. If a per- 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 205 

son is to be identified in company, it should 
be done by words ; never by pointing with 
the finger. "We should always give the 
preference to a person of greater age, or 
higher position, in stepping into a carriage 
or through a doorway." 

In a carriage, the gentleman should take 
the least desirable seat, and give the best to 
the lady. A very elderly gentleman alone 
may accept the best seat to the exclusion of 
the lady. A lady may not enter into con- 
versation with a gentleman, without an 
introduction, but if addressed she should 
answer politely. A gentleman in walking 
with a lady should give her the wall. Never 
stare at any person on the street or else- 
where. Two persons w^alking upon the 
sidewalk, meeting a third person, the nearer 
of the two should fall back to let him pass. 

Conversation is also made a mark of 
good breeding. All alBfectation, use of 



206 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

foreign words, mannerisms, exaggerations, 
slang, and loudness betray a lack of social 
culture. Scandal is the most censurable of 
all conversational vulgarities. To interrupt 
a person who is speaking is rude in the 
extreme. On the other hand, to listen with 
attention, and as far as may be with in- 
terest, is evidence of politeness. Always 
look (but never stare) at the person who 
addresses you. All equivocations, coarse 
joking, twitting, whispering, talking for 
others to hear, in society, are vulgar and 
unpardonable in any one who claims to be 
well informed. Conversation throusfh cor- 
respondence comes also under the laws of 
good breeding. All proper communications 
should be promptly answered, and in a form, 
style, and neatness indicating good taste and 
culture. Read no letter, book, or paper in 
company, without permission. 

To illustrate the importance of instruc- 



MOEALS AND MANNERS. 207 

tion in the family and school upon good man- 
ners, and to show the extent to which this 
subject has been neglected, the following 
anecdote has been told by a recent writer for 
one of our religious papers. An aged cler- 
gyman had been invited to dine at a gen- 
tleman's house, who had known him in his 
younger days. The clergyman was more 
careless of his dress than even poverty 
would excuse. And when he came to the 
table, his ignorance of the customs of re- 
fined society became painfully apparent. 
The circumstance I will relate in the 
author's own words : — 

" With the fruity some finger-bowls were 
])rought in, and, after eying the one by his 
plate a moment, he raised it to his lips and 
drank off the water. ' Excuse me, ma'am,' 
he said, touching it with his withered 
fingers, 'I never saw such pretty cups be- 
fore. What do 3^ou call them ? I would like 
to buy one for my little girl.' 



208 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

" ^ They are plain ruby bowls ; I think that 
is what they are called,' said the hostess, 
sipping from her own. * Do not buy one ; 
I have a very pretty one I should love to 
send to your daughter, if you will be kind 
enough to accept it.' 

"There was not the moving of an eyelash. 
The host glanced at his wife with loving 
pride, and followed her example. Even 
Master Tom, aged six, who was ready to 
laugh on all possible occasions, and was 
always making inopportune remarks, gravely 
drank from his finger-bowl, and slipped 
down from his chair without a word, and I 
heard him say afterward to his sister, 
* Does n't mamma have lovely thoughts ! 
She's going to give to him that pretty big 
cup, that 's just like a finger-bowl with a 
handle to it. Oh, I hope he '11 never know 
what those bowls are used for ! ' " 

Mark here, not only the ignorance of the 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 209 

guest, but the conduct of the host and his 
wife, and even the little boy, at the table. 
How beautifully they illustrated their own 
good breeding by the manner in which they 
treated their simple friend. 

Children must have the requisite instruc- 
tion, if we expect them to become fitted for 
good society, and so many fail to receive it 
at home, they should have it at school. I 
will call attention only to the more jTromi- 
nent table and school habits, which are in 
violation of the rules of good society. One 
writer says : " As soon as you are seated at 
the table, place your napkin across your 
knees, and put your roll, or bread, on the 
left side of your plate. As soon as you 
are helped, begin to eat." Others have 
regarded it civil to wait until all are served. 
Perhaps circumstances should control this 
matter, and make both rules proper. " Never 
pass the plate to which you have been 



210 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

helped (if a servant is in attendance) un- 
less the lady requests you to do so." "To 
make a noise with the mouth or lips while 

eatinsr or drinkinsr, to cou2fh or sneeze with- 
es G ' O 

out covering the face with the napkin, is 
inexpressibly vulgar." " The knife or spoon 
must never be carried to the mouth, unless 
the nature of the food absolutely requires 
it." The bread must be broken and not cut; 
the salt placed at the side of the plate, 
and the plate never tilted. Quiet and gen- 
tleness should be observed in all movements 
at the table, and greediness and haste 
avoided. "Never take the choicest piece, 
nor take up one piece and lay it down in 
favor of another." "In sending the plate to 
be helped a second time, hold the knife and 
fork in the left hand." "Finger-bowls con- 
taining water placed before each person, at 
dessert, should be used by dipping the 
fingers, and afterwards wiping them on the 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 211 

napkin." " Never soil the tablecloth, nor 
handle idly anything upon the table." These 
suggestions seem only trifles, but they are 
essential to good breeding, nevertheless. 

Rules of good behavior at school are pe- 
culiarly appropriate in this chapter, as the 
teacher is especially responsible for the 
conduct and improvement of his pupils. I 
once visited the school of one of my own 
graduates, in which I observed, with much 
satisfaction, one peculiar arrangement and 
requirement. The teacher had provided in 
one corner of the school-room a wash-stand, 
bowl, pitcher, and towel ; and after every 
exercise which required the pupils to soil 
their fingers (such as using chalk at the 
black-board), or when any pupil came in 
with a dirty face, he was sent to wash him- 
self clean. This seemed to me to be a very 
wise arrangement, not only in view of its 
usefulness in preventing the soiling of books, 



212 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

but also in cultivating the habit of personal 
cleanliness. Clean hands and a clean face 
are desirable for their own sake, and they 
strongly suggest a clean, tidy dress, clean 
nails, neatly combed hair, and blacked shoes, 
— all of which are essential to good manners, 
and good morals as well. At recess, the 
girls should be allowed to go out and return 
before the boys are excused, and all should 
be required to move in an orderly and quiet 
manner. In entering the school in the morn- 
ing, each pupil should be taught to recog- 
nize the teacher in some appropriate way. 
They should never be let loose, at once, in 
the school-room, but marched out in order. 
When pupils are spoken to on the street they 
should reply politely, with a bow, removing 
or touching the hat. " Kindness and civility 
to strangers is one of the most charming traits 
of civihzation." Good breeding will not allow 
whispering in company ; this alone, if re- 



MORALS AND MANNERS. 213 

garded, would break up the habit of whisper- 
ing in school. In addressing the teacher with 
any request, the "please, sir," or "please, 
ma'am," should never be omitted. The rules 
of good society will not alloAV pupils to in- 
dulge in rudeness to their playmates, to call 
them hard names, or nicknames. These 
rules require them to be respectful to the 
aged and the unfortunate. Marking, cutting, 
or in any way defacing the seats, walls, or 
furniture of the school-room is exceedingly 
vulgar and unbecoming. It is not becom- 
ing for a pupil to " tell tales " in or out of 
school, but he should, when questioned by 
the teacher, tell th-e simple truth. 

It is a false view of honor, which so often 
prompts even the good and trustworthy in 
school to refuse to expose the vicious in 
their reckless conduct. When school chil- 
dren learn and practise the rules that govern 
good society, they grow up to become ladies 
and gentlemen. 



214 SCHOOL KEEPING. 



VII. , 

TEMPEKANCE IK SCHOOLS. 

^HE grand object of education is so to 
train the children that they will be 
fitted for the practical duties of manhood 
and womanhood. Hence the school has to 
provide for physical, mental, and moral cul- 
ture, as a sound mind in a sound body, and 
a keen sense of moral obligation, are the 
necessary qualifications for life. But this is 
not all. Kefined manners and correct habits 
are essential to the end in view. The man 
or woman of extensive learning and approved 
character may be practically shut out from 
good society for lack of refinement, and the 
cultivated gentleman or lady may be de- 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 215 

spised and pitied on account of gross immo- 
X'alities. As I have stated, in another con- 
nection, education consists in character- 
building, and is complete only when the 
citizen is highly cultivated and furnished for 
every good work. The work of the school, 
therefore, is not finished until its instruc- 
tions and training have fortified the children 
against the vicious habits of society. Now, 
it must be admitted that no knowledcre in 
the whole range of the prescribed school 
studies is so important for the future wel- 
fare of these children, as a knowledge of 
their own physical being. 

Hence I hail wkh joy and gratitude the 
recent efforts of wise and good men and 
women to introduce into our public schools 
the study of physiology and hygiene, for the 
purpose of instructing our youth in the efiects 
and influence of intoxicatinof beveraofes on the 
human system. This fact furnishes new evi- 



216 SCHOOL KEEPING, 

dence of progress in education, and the favor 
with which the suggestion has been received 
by the public is, in the highest degree, en- 
couraging and assuring. 

Already five States of our Union have 
passed compulsory acts for the introduction 
of this study into their public schools; viz., 
Yermont, New Hampshire, Michigan, New 
York, and Rhode Island ; and the subject has 
already occupied the attention of the Massa- 
chusetts Legislature, and its active approval 
of such a bill is now being urged by such 
writers as Presidents Hopkins, Seelye, and 
Warren, Hon. T. W. Bicknell, Miss Alice 
M. Guernsey, and the managers of the 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Miss 
Guernsey, the most prominent in the prep- 
aration of the text-book mentioned later, 
thus speaks of the provisions of this statute : 

"The law provides for teaching the im- 
portance of fresh air and healthful food ; of 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 217 

proper clothing and cleanliness of person ; 
the necessity of both rest and exercise ; the 
mighty power of heredity, peopling to-day 
our almshouses, homes for idiots, and in- 
sane asylums with the descendants of drink- 
ing men and women, often of ' moderate 
drinkers,' so called ; not only these, and 
similar lessons, important as they are, but 
the blasting, destroying effects of alcohol 
upon the entire physical organization, the 
paralyzing, impure influence of tobacco, es- 
pecially upon youth, the soul-benumbing, 
will-destroying action of opium and chloral 
upon the human system, — all these must 
be taught the childi'en in our schools when 
we secure the passage of this law." 

President Hopkins says, "You are right 
in seeking to enlist the intelligence and sym- 
pathies of the young in favor of temperance. 
The history of the past would seem to show 
that this is our only hope. This can be gen- 



218 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

erally and effectively done only by instruc- 
tion and training in the schools of the State. 
But that this should be done is so plainly for 
the interest of the State, both pecuniarily 
and morally, and so fit in itself, that I can- 
not suppose anything more than a bare pres- 
entation of the subject will be needed to 
secure from our Legislature the passage of 
laws in furtherance of this end similar to 
those already passed by several other 
States." 

President Seelye says : " The movement 
in behalf of ' Scientific Temperance Instruc- 
tion ' meets my most cordial approval. The 
physiological effects of alcoholic drinks upon 
the human body are now so clearly known 
and are so wofully destructive that they 
ought to be taught to every child. No topic 
is more worthy a required place in our public 
schools." 

President Warren says: "Ordinarily, and 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 219 

on general principles, I hold it wise to teach 
the young the knowledge of the good rather 
than a knowledge of the evil, to make 
them acquainted with the blessings of virtue 
rather than with the misery and curse of 
vice. But when the rum-shops are becom- 
ing ten or a hundred times more numerous 
than the bakeries, when rum capital is bent 
on mastering and ruling every municipal 
government, when the victims of drink, who 
should be the strength and glory of our land, 
are going down by the hundred thousand 
into pauperism, insanity, and death, surely 
it is time to begin with childhood and to see 
if it be not possible to train up a generation 
which shall be not merely forewarned of its 
own peril, but also fired with a holy and 
unquenchable zeal to put an utter end to the 
poisoning of man by his fellow-man for pelf. 
I earnestly hope that the legislators of en- 
lightened Massachusetts will hasten to au- 



220 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

tliorize and require the introduction into the 
public schools of suitable instruction on this 
subject." 

Mr. Bicknell says : " The teachers of 
America are nobly endeavoring to teach good 
manners, pure morals, and upright living, 
and they welcome scientific temperance liter- 
ature as valuable aids in establishing correct 
principles and virtuous habits in our youth. 
Could the public schools and the Sunday 
schools of America make our children armor- 
proof against the seductive temptations of 
tobacco and alcohol, the cost of their sup- 
port, however large that may be, would 
represent but a tithe of their value. Let 
the good work go on, through address, 
printed page, and home and school instruc- 
tion, till the last drunkard's grave is filled, 
and every child is on the high road to a 
temperate and holy manhood or woman- 
hood." 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 221 

The following, from Hon. J. W. Patter- 
son, Superintendent of Public Instruction 
in Xew Hampshire, where this law is in 
operation, is in point : — 

" Not only clo ' evil communications cor- 
rupt good manners,' but virtuous commu- 
nications develop good habits. Much of 
the drunkenness, debauchery, and slow sui- 
cide by self-administered poisons spring from 
ignorance of the natural effects of fash- 
ionable drugs. The youth, who acquire the 
knowledoe which this law is desiofned to 
give, will be armed within against temp- 
tations, to which the uninformed become 
a prey. Our only .hope for anything like 
general success to the cause of temperance 
is through the young. Here we must work, 
if we would disband our army of 6,000 
drunkards. Here Christianity and patriot- 
ism may tind their most hopeful field of 
labor." 



222 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

The acts passed in the States mentioned 
are substantially alike, as in the language 
of the New York bill : — 

"The people of the State of New York, 
represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : — 

"Section 1. Provision shall be made by 
the proper local authorities for instructing 
all pupils in all schools supported by public 
money or under control of the State, in 
physiology and hygiene, with special refer- 
ence to the effects of alcoholic drinks, stimu- 
lants, and narcotics upon the human system. 

"Sect. 2. No certificate shall be granted 
to any person to teach in the public schools 
of New York, after Jan. 1, 1885, who has 
not passed a satisfactory examination in 
physiology and hygiene, with special refer- 
ence to the effect of alcoholic drinks, stimu- 
lants, and narcotics on the human system." 

Suitable text-books have already been pro- 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 223 

vided, of which "The Temperance Physiol- 
ogy," published by A. S. Barnes & Co., of 
New York, is a good specimen. With such 
an auspicious beginning, it is confidently ex- 
pected that erelong every vState will have a 
similar provision on its statute book. Then 
the children of the nation, forewarned by a 
practical knowledge of the nature and effects 
of stimulants and the narcotic poisons upon 
health and life, will be forearmed against the 
fearful consequences of indulging in their 
use. 

The hopefulness of such a measure, in its 
practical bearing upon the future of these 
children and youth, is seen in the fact that 
the use of intoxicating liquors and narcotics 
is entirely unnatural. Children, unless they 
have inherited the taste from drunken par- 
ents, loathe these poisons. To form the 
habit of drinking, smoking, or chewing costs 
a painful effort. Nausea, headache, and 



224 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

faintness are the first consequences, and it 
is only by repeated and persevering trials 
that nature is overcome. Now, if they can 
be instructed as to the nature and effects of 
these poisons, and the extreme danger of in- 
dulgence, they will have a strong additional 
motive to refrain from their use. Without 
this information they will be likely to form 
the habit and to continue indulgence, until, 
as a tyrant, it has gained entire control over 
them, and they have become powerless in 
their efforts to reform. 

Besides, from no other source would this 
information be received at the time when it 
would be so impressive and long retained in 
memory. This shows, also, the wisdom and 
importance of this measure. He who cavils 
or objects to introducing this study into our 
schools, and yet claims to be a believer in 
total abstinence, must be wanting in sincerity 
or intelligence upon this subject. 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 225 

This law, which may be already found on 
the statute book of the five States named, is 
based, not upon assumed, but demonstrated 
facts in regard to the "efiects of alcoholic 
drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon the 
human system." These facts relate princi- 
pally to the three rank poisons especially 
treated in the text-books on physiology and 
hygiene that are to be used in the schools 
under the law, and which are italicized in 
the following stanza of the poet : — 

" I group, saj's Hitchcock (for they do agree 
In being poisons, as 'tis phiin to see), — 
I group together and reject the sum 
Of alcohol, tobacco, opium." 

First, the facts in regard to the efiects of 
alcohol, as established by the best medical 
authority. Dr. Palmer, of Michigan Uni- 
versity, says : " Medical winters admit that 
by far the most disastrous and frequent cause 
of poisoning in all our communities is the 
15 



226 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

use of alcohol." Dr. Edmands, of England, 
writes : " The effects of no other common 
poison are more direct and certain than those 
of alcohol." Dr. Alden, of Massachusetts, 
asserts : " On every organ they touch alco- 
holic drinks act as a poison ; there is no such 
thing as their temiperate use. They are al- 
ways an enemy to the human body. They 
produce weakness, not strength ; sickness, 
not health ; death, not life." Not only has 
medical testimony proved, but the observa- 
tion of every intelligent person in any com- 
munity has verified the truth that alcohol, as 
a poison, is a fruitful source of disease, 
insanity, and death. 

Second^ the facts in regard to the effects 
of tobacco. It is a powerful narcotic and 
contains a substance called nicotine^ which 
is such a rank poison that a single drop upon 
a cat's tongue will produce death in a short 
time. A single cigar contains enough of 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 227 

this poison, if extracted and administered 
pure, to kill two strong men. A cigarette 
contains still more poison than a common 
cigar, and results in more serious conse- 
quences to the smoker. 

Says Dr. Carlyon : "Tobacco is a very 
powerful narcotic poison ; its fumes possess 
the power of stupefying all the senses and 
all the faculties, by slow but enduring intoxi- 
cation, into dull obliviousness." Dr. Corson 
enumerates some of the direct results of 
excessive smoking as they came under his 
observation: "giddiness, sickness, vomiting, 
dyspepsia, diseased liver, congestion of the 
brain, apoplexy, palsy, mania, loss of mem- 
ory, deafness, nervousness, and cowardice." 
Smoking, like drinking, first conquers and 
then makes slaves of its victims, even unto 
death, as a rule. 

Third, the facts in regard to the efiects of 
opium. Opium eating is a vice much more 



228 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

extensive than is generally supposed, since it 
is much less easily detected than alcoholic 
intoxication. In many instances, where law 
and custom have made the use of alcoholic 
beverages disreputable, the use of opium has 
been substituted. Its effects are most mani- 
fest upon the nervous and digestive systems. 
Loss of appetite, vomiting, pain in the 
stomach, emaciation, weakness, trembling 
gait, mental hallucinations and sluggishness, 
and a kind of delirium tremens are the symp- 
toms. To understand the terrible effects of 
using this poison we have only to follow 
the innocent boy and the wretched man who 
has written the " Confessions of an English 
Opium-Eater " through his remarkable and 
suffering career. Left an orphan when 
but seven years old, he lived in seclusion 
and enjoyed but limited advantages at school, 
yet he distinguished himself as a scholar, 
and gained position with such able writers 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 229 

as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey, 
who were among his associates. At eighteen 
years of age, by the advice of a college com- 
panion, he took opium " to dull the pain of 
rheumatism," and thus began the formation 
of the habit which proved such a curse 
through his life. At this time DeQuincey 
says, "I was necessarily ignorant of the 
whole art and mystery of opium eating." 
Fortunate would it have been for him, could 
he have been taught, during his early school 
days, the nature and eJffects of this narcotic, 
but it was too late after the habit had been 
formed. For twenty-five years his life was 
one desperate struggle with a foe more terri- 
ble than death, and though he gained a par- 
tial victory, yet he was left " agitated, writh- 
ing, throbbing, palpitating, shattered." No 
language can' express his agony, or describe 
the paralyzing effects of this drug upon his 
otherwise brilliant intellect. This is only 



230 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

one case of thousands of its kind, but it 
serves to illustrate. 

I speak of stimulants and narcotics used 
as a beverage and luxury. As deadly poi- 
sons they have their place and uses. To 
learn when and how they may be used is 
one lesson in this school study. 

Alcohol is useful in the arts. It dissolves 
gums, resins, and oils ; aids in extracting 
perfumes and medicines from leaves, roots, 
barks, and seeds ; preserves dead flesh from 
decay ; and produces the smokeless flame of 
the spirit-lamp. 

Opium, like alcohol, with its various com- 
pounds, is useful as a medicine, but neither 
can be taken with safety, except under the 
prescription of a skilful physician . 

But what can be said of the usefulness of 
tobacco? Does it help digestion, relieve the 
aching head or nerves, preserve the teeth, or 
ward off" contagion ? 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 231 

"Physicians say, 'tis common- sense abused — 
There 's no disease for which it need be used ; 
It is a poison 5 and to sum the whole, 
It ruins health, life, property, and soul. 
Is this the case? then let me ask each one, 
What ought? what can? and what must now be 
done? 

One thing is needful, and alone but one ; 
Its use abandon, and the work is done." 

Another view of our subject favors instruc- 
tion in our schools as to the effects of stimu- 
lants and narcotics on the human system. It 
is not enough to save the children from the 
physical consequences of debasing habits for 
their own sake. They must be saved to the 
state as sober, virtuous, and intelligent citi- 
zens, whose influence and efibrts will pro- 
mote the public good. To this end they 
must have correct views and principles as 
well as correct habits ; must learn the moral 
aspect of the temperance question, and gain 
moral courage to act according to their con- 



232 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

victions. Hence among the lessons taught 
them in school, in connection with this sub- 
ject, should be the following : — 

(1.) That the misuse and abuse of these 
poisons have turned multitudes of citizens 
into jpaujpers, whom the community has to 
support. " Nine tenths of all the paupers 
graduate from the dram shop." 

(2.) That the use of these poisons has 
turned other thousands of citizens into crimi- 
nals, and the community is compelled to 
build prisons and sustain courts, to care for 
and punish them. "Four fifths of all the 
crime of the country is the result of the 
dram shops." 

(3.) That large numbers of those who 
might otherwise become good citizens are 
turned into Iwiatics and idiots by the use of 
these poisons. "Three fifths of the lunacy 
and idiocy of the country come directly or 
indirectly from intemperance." 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 233 

(4.) That there are two thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-six dram shops in the 
city of Boston (five for each school-house 
and twelve for each church), legalized by 
the vote of a majority of more than ten 
thousand citizens to make paupers, crimi- 
nals, lunatics, and idiots. Nor is Boston an 
exception among the large cities in this 
regard. Other thousands, both licensed and 
unlicensed, all over the nation, are carrying 
on the traffic, with the same alarming and 
painful results. 

(5.) That while only $85,000,000 are 
annually spent in the United States for 
public education, 11,500,000,000 are spent 
for alcoholic drinks and tobacco ! 

Now what we propose to do is to give the 
children in the schools of the State and, 
erelong, the schools of the nation, these 
facts and figures, and to draw from them 
moral lessons for their instruction and en- 



234 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

couragement in the ways of sobriety and 
virtue, and for their guide in life. 

I agree with President Warren, whose 
words I have already quoted, that, " on gen- 
eral principles, it is wise to make the young 
acquainted with the blessings of virtue rather 
than with the misery and curse of vice," 
and I also agree with him, in view of the 
fact that "rum-shops are becoming ten 
or a hundred times more numerous than the 
bakeries, that rum-capital is bent on master- 
ing and ruling every municipal government, 
and that victims of drink, who should be the 
strength and glory of our land, are going 
down, by the hundred thousand, into pauper- 
ism, insanity, and death," I agree with him, 
I repeat, in urging that " it is time to begin 
with childhood, and to see if it is not possible 
to train up a generation which shall be fore- 
warned of its own peril, and fired with an 
unquenchable zeal to put an utter end to the 



TEMPEKANCE IN SCHOOLS. 235 

poisoning of man by his fellow-man." We 
cannot, if we would, conceal from our chil- 
dren and youth " the misery and curse of 
vice." We should aim, therefore, to set 
these facts before them in their true light, 
to enable them to understand the causes of 
the evil, as well as " the blessings of virtue." 
A generation of children so taught, and 
graduated from the public schools to become 
citizens, would have strength to maintain 
their own integrity, power, and a disposition 
to revolutionize public opinion on these 
subjects, and to stay the tide of iniquity that 
has rolled in upon us like a surging flood. 
At least it is worjth our while to try the 
experiment, since all other measures have 
failed. 

There are also incidental advantages con- 
nected with the introduction of this new 
study into our schools, which should not be 
overlooked. First, it will open the whole 



236 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

subject of physiology and hygiene to the 
careful study of all who are in the course of 
public education. Not only will the effects 
of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics 
upon the human system be studied, but 
also the facts and laws relating to health and 
life generally. This will include a knowl- 
edge of the functions of the body, and the 
conditions of their healthy action ; the use of 
appropriate nourishment, and the regulation 
of surrounding circumstances ; the wearing 
of proper clothing and the breathing of pure 
air; and regular and sufficient exercise. It 
is of vital importance to know what it is 
proper to eat, and when to eat. Food must 
not only be nutritious and properly cooked, 
but it must be taken with regularity and thor- 
oughly masticated ; and, to secure its diges- 
tion, both exercise and rest are essential. 
Proper clothing is also an important element 
of hygiene. This must be regulated to suit 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 237 

the seasons and the degree of exposure to 
which the person may be liable, so as to 
avoid extremes of cold, heat, and moisture. 
It must be fitted so as not to expose the 
delicate parts of the body, or to restrict the 
action of the vital organs. The necessity of 
pure air is also an indispensable condition 
of health. To secure this and avoid the 
effluvia exhaled from standing pools, and the 
poison generated in unventilated rooms, 
the laws touching this subject must be 
thoroughly understood. I specify these 
conditions of health and sickness, because 
they will all be met and naturally dealt 
with in the school-room, when the study 
of physiology and hygiene has been intro- 
duced. No matter if their introduction 
interferes with other studies. These are 
the most important of all for the future wel- 
fare of our children, and of the State whose 
duty it is to educate them. No matter if 



238 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

teachers are now poorly prepared to give 
the necessary instruction. Under the re- 
quirements of the law they will soon bring 
themselves up to the necessary standard, or 
give place to those who are already qualified. 
This suggests the second incidental ad- 
vantage resulting from this new step in the 
educational progress of our times. Teachers, 
as a body, have been and are very deficient 
in this branch of study, and hence are not 
qualified properly to care for the health of 
their pupils. Not an hour of any school 
day of the year when there is not an oppor- 
tunity for the teacher to direct and control 
the circumstances which preserve the health 
or induce the sickness of his pupils. To 
compel him to qualify himself to discharge 
this duty is the first business of the law. 
It will result in great advantage to the 
teachers themselves as well as to their pupils. 
Many, doubtless, break down under the 



TEMPERANCE IN SCHOOLS. 239 

pressure of labor and care, solely for the 
want of a knowledge of the laws of their 
being. With this knowledge they will be 
able to save their own as well as the health 
and life of their pupils. 

Teachers should, therefore, hail with pleas- 
ure this new legal measure for the ad- 
vancement of the cause of education. They 
should at once signify their approval, and 
use their influence and efforts to help on the 
good cause. If any fail to do this, they 
will fall behind, and soon drop out of the 
service. 

Among the aids which teachers, who desire 
to prepare themselves to give instruction 
upon physiology and hygiene as required by 
the law of the several States alluded to in this 
chapter, will need, is Dr. A. F. Blaisdell's 
elementary text-book, entitled " Our Bodies, 
and How we Live," published by Lee & 
Shepard, Boston. How the author handles 



240 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

the subject will be seen by the following 
tabular analysis : — 

I. Muscles. 

1. Effect of alcohol on the muscles. 

II. Food and Drink. 

1. Artificial drinks. 

2. Tea, coffee, and cocoa. 

3. Effect of drinking tea and coffee. 

4. Alcohol described. 

5. Principal drinks that contain alcohol. 

6. Alcohol as a food. 

7. Alcohol and work. 

III. Digestion. 

1. Indigestion due to alcohol. 

2. Effect of alcohol on the stomach-digestion, 

3. Effect of alcohol on the liver. 
ly. The Blood and its Circulation. 

1. Effect of alcohol on the circulation. 

2. How alcohol gets into the blood. 

3. Effect of alcohol upon the heart. 
V. Breathing. 

1. Effect of alcohol upon the lungs. 

2. Alcohol and the bodily heat. 
yi. The Nervous System. 

1. General remarks on stimulants and nar- 
cotics. 



CONCLUDING EEMARKS. 241 

2. General effect of alcohol on the nervous 

system. 

3. Alcoholic excess and the nervous system. 

4. Final result of alcoholic excess. 

5. Inherited craving for alcohol. 

6. Tobacco and its moderate use. 

7. Excessive use of tobacco. 

8. Effect of tobacco upon young people. 

9. Opium. 

10. Practical points about opium. 

11. Chloral. 

12. Other narcotics. 



"The schoolmaster is abroad," and he was 
abroad fifty years ago. But how dijfferent 
his advantages, opportunities, and methods, 
then and now! Then he had no special train- 
ing for his work, and little or no system in 
his arrangements and instruction. 

" There in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, 
The village master taught his little school. 
A man severe he was, and stern to view ; 
I knew him well, and every truant knew." 



16 



242 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

That he was " skilled to rule " as a tyrant^ 
the quotation I have made from Jean Paul 
Richter, on another page, will abundantly 
prove. 

Mark the change in the arrangements, 
management, and government of the school 
of to-day. It is "as from a state of barbar- 
ism to civilization." 

Then " teaching to teach " was not known ; 
now the whole process of instruction has 
been reduced to system, and both the science 
and art of education are studied in prepara- 
tion for the work of the school-room. 

Great, also, has been the change in the 
results of the teaching of to-day compared 
with fifty years ago. There has been 
steady improvement in the public schools 
during this period, as during the two hun- 
dred years of their history, notwithstanding 
Dr. E. E. Hale's statement to the contrary. 
The masters of fifty years ago did as well 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 243 

as the circumstances would allow, but their 
successors have continued to improve upon 
their methods, and better results have been 
realized. No one has seen the growth, Ijut 
it is a reality. The tree that stands upon 
the old homestead was, fifty years ago, a 
mere sapling ; now it is a sturdy elm. 
Only by comparing the two trees can one 
realize how great a change has been wrought. 
So it is with the schools of then and now. 
The teacher of to-day has his trials and re- 
sponsibilities as did the teacher of fifty years 
ago ; indeed his responsibilities are greater. 
He lives amid the stirring scenes of this 
remarkable age, when he must have in 
hand the special work which Avill settle 
the destiny of this great Eepublic. Illit- 
eracy, the nation's curse, must be removed, 
and the citizens of the next generation, who 
should now be in our schools, must be edu- 
cated and fitted to carry an intelligent ballot. 



244 SCHOOL KEEPING. 

Drunkenness and debauchery are sapping the 
life and consuming the wealth of the nation. 
The cause of tliese evile must be removed, 
or all is lost. To the school-teacher really, 
if not mainly, we must look for relief 
and safety. With the increased responsi- 
bility comes encouragement for well doing. 
Tiae glory of such labors is great. The true 
teacher of to-day is not only moulding the 
lives of children who are to become the men 
and women of the immediate future, but in 
doing this he is also influencing the intelli- 
gence, character, and progress of generations 
yet to come. 



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